Homicides in Brazil
Brazil: Homicides was 69,651 deaths in 2021. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Brazil, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
Brazil recorded 69,651 deaths for homicides in 2021. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 14.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Brazil peaked at 69,651 deaths in 2021 and was at its lowest, 56,490 deaths, in 2000.
That places Brazil 1st out of 194 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Homicides in Brazil, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 56,490 deaths | — |
| 2001 | 58,987 deaths | +4.4% |
| 2002 | 61,235 deaths | +3.8% |
| 2003 | 62,219 deaths | +1.6% |
| 2004 | 58,992 deaths | -5.2% |
| 2005 | 57,666 deaths | -2.2% |
| 2006 | 58,506 deaths | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 57,610 deaths | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 60,089 deaths | +4.3% |
| 2009 | 62,140 deaths | +3.4% |
| 2010 | 60,960 deaths | -1.9% |
| 2011 | 60,598 deaths | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 65,011 deaths | +7.3% |
| 2013 | 63,943 deaths | -1.6% |
| 2014 | 64,564 deaths | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 64,859 deaths | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 67,937 deaths | +4.7% |
| 2017 | 68,886 deaths | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 68,128 deaths | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 68,779 deaths | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 69,338 deaths | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 69,651 deaths | +0.5% |
Brazil compared with similar countries
- Brazil's 69,651 deaths is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 237.51 deaths, 293.3× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Brazil's 69,651 deaths is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 702.19 deaths, 99.2× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 59,393 deaths | 56,490 deaths | 62,219 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 65,367 deaths | 60,598 deaths | 68,886 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 69,494 deaths | 69,338 deaths | 69,651 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near Brazil
More social development data for Brazil
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 278,966 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 6,306 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (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 6,306 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0013 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 Brazil?
- Homicides in Brazil was 69,651 deaths in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Brazil?
- The highest recorded value was 69,651 deaths in 2021.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Brazil?
- The lowest recorded value was 56,490 deaths in 2000.
- How does Brazil rank for homicides?
- Brazil ranks 1st out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Brazil?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Brazil 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.