Homicides in Canada
Canada: Homicides was 626.21 deaths in 2021. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Canada, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
Canada recorded 626.21 deaths for homicides in 2021.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 3.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Canada peaked at 662.26 deaths in 2005 and was at its lowest, 509 deaths, in 2013.
Canada ranks 77th of 194 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Homicides in Canada, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 543.48 deaths | — |
| 2001 | 550.84 deaths | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 577.37 deaths | +4.8% |
| 2003 | 545.56 deaths | -5.5% |
| 2004 | 621.88 deaths | +14.0% |
| 2005 | 662.26 deaths | +6.5% |
| 2006 | 603.67 deaths | -8.8% |
| 2007 | 595.18 deaths | -1.4% |
| 2008 | 614.68 deaths | +3.3% |
| 2009 | 610.93 deaths | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 557.26 deaths | -8.8% |
| 2011 | 604.94 deaths | +8.6% |
| 2012 | 549.57 deaths | -9.2% |
| 2013 | 509 deaths | -7.4% |
| 2014 | 523.12 deaths | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 607.53 deaths | +16.1% |
| 2016 | 609.53 deaths | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 660.83 deaths | +8.4% |
| 2018 | 603.52 deaths | -8.7% |
| 2019 | 605.03 deaths | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 624.51 deaths | +3.2% |
| 2021 | 626.21 deaths | +0.3% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 626.21 deaths is above the median for high income countries, which is 71.2 deaths, 8.8× the median. (63 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 592.58 deaths | 543.48 deaths | 662.26 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 583.03 deaths | 509 deaths | 660.83 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 625.36 deaths | 624.51 deaths | 626.21 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More social development data for Canada
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 416,028 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 360 (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 360 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.01 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 Canada?
- Homicides in Canada was 626.21 deaths in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 662.26 deaths in 2005.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 509 deaths in 2013.
- How does Canada rank for homicides?
- Canada ranks 77th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada 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.