Homicides in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Homicides was 8,129 deaths in 2021. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Ethiopia, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
The most recent figure for homicides in Ethiopia is 8,129 deaths, measured in 2021. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 6.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Ethiopia peaked at 8,129 deaths in 2021 and was at its lowest, 7,313 deaths, in 2000.
Ethiopia ranks 15th 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 Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7,313 deaths | — |
| 2001 | 7,322 deaths | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 7,336 deaths | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 7,344 deaths | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 7,336 deaths | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 7,335 deaths | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 7,383 deaths | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 7,399 deaths | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 7,411 deaths | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 7,473 deaths | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 7,541 deaths | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 7,611 deaths | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 7,713 deaths | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 7,753 deaths | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 7,842 deaths | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 7,921 deaths | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 7,992 deaths | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 8,010 deaths | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 8,038 deaths | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 8,076 deaths | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 8,101 deaths | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 8,129 deaths | +0.4% |
Ethiopia compared with similar countries
- Ethiopia's 8,129 deaths is above the median for low income countries, which is 1,070 deaths, 7.6× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Ethiopia's 8,129 deaths is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 971.62 deaths, 8.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7,365 deaths | 7,313 deaths | 7,473 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 7,850 deaths | 7,541 deaths | 8,076 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 8,115 deaths | 8,101 deaths | 8,129 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
More social development data for Ethiopia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1.01 million (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 164,215 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 6 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 6 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0012 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 164,215 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0075 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 Ethiopia?
- Homicides in Ethiopia was 8,129 deaths in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 8,129 deaths in 2021.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 7,313 deaths in 2000.
- How does Ethiopia rank for homicides?
- Ethiopia ranks 15th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ethiopia 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.