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.
Homicides in Colombia, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 36,591 deaths | — |
| 2001 | 38,311 deaths | +4.7% |
| 2002 | 40,463 deaths | +5.6% |
| 2003 | 31,425 deaths | -22.3% |
| 2004 | 29,644 deaths | -5.7% |
| 2005 | 25,373 deaths | -14.4% |
| 2006 | 25,555 deaths | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 24,196 deaths | -5.3% |
| 2008 | 25,165 deaths | +4.0% |
| 2009 | 29,626 deaths | +17.7% |
| 2010 | 28,100 deaths | -5.2% |
| 2011 | 26,237 deaths | -6.6% |
| 2012 | 25,482 deaths | -2.9% |
| 2013 | 23,989 deaths | -5.9% |
| 2014 | 22,424 deaths | -6.5% |
| 2015 | 21,340 deaths | -4.8% |
| 2016 | 20,788 deaths | -2.6% |
| 2017 | 20,378 deaths | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 20,059 deaths | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 19,452 deaths | -3.0% |
| 2020 | 18,918 deaths | -2.7% |
| 2021 | 18,353 deaths | -3.0% |
Colombia compared with similar countries
- Colombia's 18,353 deaths is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 237.51 deaths, 77.3× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Colombia's 18,353 deaths is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 702.19 deaths, 26.1× the median. (33 countries reporting)
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
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,464 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 79,669 (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 0.0015 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 79,669 (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 0 units per US$ of GDP (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.
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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.