Homicides in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Homicides was 3,360 deaths in 2021. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Afghanistan, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
In 2021, homicides in Afghanistan stood at 3,360 deaths. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
The figure is up 2.3% on the previous year and up 25.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Afghanistan peaked at 3,360 deaths in 2021 and was at its lowest, 2,053 deaths, in 2000.
Afghanistan ranks 25th of 194 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Homicides in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2,053 deaths | — |
| 2001 | 2,104 deaths | +2.5% |
| 2002 | 2,315 deaths | +10.0% |
| 2003 | 2,456 deaths | +6.1% |
| 2004 | 2,400 deaths | -2.3% |
| 2005 | 2,497 deaths | +4.0% |
| 2006 | 2,530 deaths | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 2,482 deaths | -1.9% |
| 2008 | 2,517 deaths | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 2,567 deaths | +2.0% |
| 2010 | 2,678 deaths | +4.3% |
| 2011 | 2,670 deaths | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 2,720 deaths | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 2,785 deaths | +2.4% |
| 2014 | 2,868 deaths | +3.0% |
| 2015 | 3,130 deaths | +9.1% |
| 2016 | 3,191 deaths | +2.0% |
| 2017 | 3,031 deaths | -5.0% |
| 2018 | 3,191 deaths | +5.3% |
| 2019 | 3,217 deaths | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 3,284 deaths | +2.1% |
| 2021 | 3,360 deaths | +2.3% |
Afghanistan compared with similar countries
- Afghanistan's 3,360 deaths is above the median for low income countries, which is 1,070 deaths, 3.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Afghanistan's 3,360 deaths is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 369.44 deaths, 9.1× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2,392 deaths | 2,053 deaths | 2,567 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 2,948 deaths | 2,670 deaths | 3,217 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 3,322 deaths | 3,284 deaths | 3,360 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More social development data for Afghanistan
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 20,869 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2.67 million (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 7 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0609 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2.67 million (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0005 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in Afghanistan?
- Homicides in Afghanistan was 3,360 deaths in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 3,360 deaths in 2021.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 2,053 deaths in 2000.
- How does Afghanistan rank for homicides?
- Afghanistan ranks 25th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 25.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Homicides. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimated number of deaths from interpersonal violence in both sexes.