Homicides in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Homicides was 11,865 deaths in 2021. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 11,865 deaths for homicides in 2021. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
The figure is up 3.1% on the previous year and up 30.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 11,865 deaths in 2021 and was at its lowest, 6,834 deaths, in 2000.
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 11th of 194 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Homicides in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 6,834 deaths | — |
| 2001 | 7,023 deaths | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 7,249 deaths | +3.2% |
| 2003 | 7,425 deaths | +2.4% |
| 2004 | 7,613 deaths | +2.5% |
| 2005 | 7,792 deaths | +2.4% |
| 2006 | 7,955 deaths | +2.1% |
| 2007 | 8,167 deaths | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 8,394 deaths | +2.8% |
| 2009 | 8,635 deaths | +2.9% |
| 2010 | 8,885 deaths | +2.9% |
| 2011 | 9,072 deaths | +2.1% |
| 2012 | 9,248 deaths | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 9,565 deaths | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 9,886 deaths | +3.4% |
| 2015 | 10,206 deaths | +3.2% |
| 2016 | 10,479 deaths | +2.7% |
| 2017 | 10,607 deaths | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 10,916 deaths | +2.9% |
| 2019 | 11,194 deaths | +2.5% |
| 2020 | 11,512 deaths | +2.8% |
| 2021 | 11,865 deaths | +3.1% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 11,865 deaths is above the median for low income countries, which is 1,070 deaths, 11.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 11,865 deaths is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 971.62 deaths, 12.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7,709 deaths | 6,834 deaths | 8,635 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 10,006 deaths | 8,885 deaths | 11,194 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 11,688 deaths | 11,512 deaths | 11,865 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More social development data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 503,732 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1.18 million (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 7 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0104 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1.18 million (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0045 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 Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Homicides in Democratic Republic of Congo was 11,865 deaths in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 11,865 deaths in 2021.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 6,834 deaths in 2000.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for homicides?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 11th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 30.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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.