Homicides in Colombia
Colombia: Homicides was 18,353 deaths in 2021. ▼ Falling
Homicides in Colombia, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
Colombia recorded 18,353 deaths for homicides in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 22 years on record.
The figure is down 3.0% on the previous year and down 30.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Colombia peaked at 40,463 deaths in 2002 and was at its lowest, 18,353 deaths, in 2021.
Colombia ranks 7th of 194 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 30,635 deaths | 24,196 deaths | 40,463 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 22,825 deaths | 19,452 deaths | 28,100 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 18,636 deaths | 18,353 deaths | 18,918 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near Colombia
- 4 South Africa 19,488 deaths compare
- 5 United States 19,110 deaths compare
- 6 Nigeria 18,463 deaths compare
- 8 Venezuela 17,722 deaths compare
- 9 Pakistan 15,174 deaths compare
- 10 Philippines 14,541 deaths compare
More social development data for Colombia
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 1,464 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 79,669 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.679 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.81 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.89 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.679 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.467 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.555 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in Colombia?
- Homicides in Colombia was 18,353 deaths in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Colombia?
- The highest recorded value was 40,463 deaths in 2002.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Colombia?
- The lowest recorded value was 18,353 deaths in 2021.
- How does Colombia rank for homicides?
- Colombia ranks 7th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Colombia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 30.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Colombia 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.