Homicides in Australia
Australia: Homicides was 236.54 deaths in 2021. ▼ Falling
Homicides in Australia, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
Australia recorded 236.54 deaths for homicides in 2021.
The figure is down 0.6% on the previous year and down 9.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Australia peaked at 313.16 deaths in 2000 and was at its lowest, 234.47 deaths, in 2007.
Australia ranks 105th of 194 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Homicides in Australia, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 313.16 deaths | — |
| 2001 | 306.7 deaths | -2.1% |
| 2002 | 295.01 deaths | -3.8% |
| 2003 | 257.66 deaths | -12.7% |
| 2004 | 254.04 deaths | -1.4% |
| 2005 | 255.02 deaths | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 266.59 deaths | +4.5% |
| 2007 | 234.47 deaths | -12.0% |
| 2008 | 273.6 deaths | +16.7% |
| 2009 | 287.34 deaths | +5.0% |
| 2010 | 265.62 deaths | -7.6% |
| 2011 | 262.36 deaths | -1.2% |
| 2012 | 294.99 deaths | +12.4% |
| 2013 | 257.31 deaths | -12.8% |
| 2014 | 258.17 deaths | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 271.68 deaths | +5.2% |
| 2016 | 239.88 deaths | -11.7% |
| 2017 | 242.19 deaths | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 246.48 deaths | +1.8% |
| 2019 | 243.46 deaths | -1.2% |
| 2020 | 237.99 deaths | -2.2% |
| 2021 | 236.54 deaths | -0.6% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 236.54 deaths is above the median for high income countries, which is 71.2 deaths, 3.3× the median. (63 countries reporting)
- Australia's 236.54 deaths is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 123.38 deaths, 1.9× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 274.36 deaths | 234.47 deaths | 313.16 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 258.21 deaths | 239.88 deaths | 294.99 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 237.26 deaths | 236.54 deaths | 237.99 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More social development data for Australia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 33,415 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 41 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 41 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0012 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in Australia?
- Homicides in Australia was 236.54 deaths in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 313.16 deaths in 2000.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 234.47 deaths in 2007.
- How does Australia rank for homicides?
- Australia ranks 105th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia 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.