Homicides in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Homicides was 258 deaths in 2021. ▼ Falling
Homicides in United Kingdom, 1950–2021
Source: WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
United Kingdom recorded 258 deaths for homicides in 2021.
The figure is up 24.6% on the previous year and up 34.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in United Kingdom peaked at 851 deaths in 1976 and was at its lowest, 118 deaths, in 2016.
That places United Kingdom 34th out of 113 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 72 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 237.7 deaths | 208 deaths | 281 deaths | 10 |
| 1960s | 344.7 deaths | 277 deaths | 411 deaths | 10 |
| 1970s | 665.7 deaths | 418 deaths | 851 deaths | 10 |
| 1980s | 512.9 deaths | 371 deaths | 634 deaths | 10 |
| 1990s | 495.9 deaths | 401 deaths | 710 deaths | 10 |
| 2000s | 275.9 deaths | 193 deaths | 529 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 204.9 deaths | 118 deaths | 369 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 232.5 deaths | 207 deaths | 258 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More social development data for United Kingdom
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 581,072 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 517 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.772 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.833 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.859 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.772 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.533 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.689 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in United Kingdom?
- Homicides in United Kingdom was 258 deaths in 2021, according to WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 851 deaths in 1976.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 118 deaths in 2016.
- How does United Kingdom rank for homicides?
- United Kingdom ranks 34th out of 113 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 34.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
- The figures come from WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Homicides. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 72 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual number of homicides.