Homicides in Iceland
Iceland: Homicides was 3.95 deaths in 2021. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Iceland, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
In 2021, homicides in Iceland stood at 3.95 deaths.
That represents a change of up 2.1% on the previous year and up 79.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Iceland peaked at 4.67 deaths in 2017 and was at its lowest, 1.73 deaths, in 2008.
That places Iceland 181st out of 194 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Homicides in Iceland, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.29 deaths | — |
| 2001 | 2.58 deaths | -21.6% |
| 2002 | 2.69 deaths | +4.3% |
| 2003 | 2.19 deaths | -18.6% |
| 2004 | 2.39 deaths | +9.1% |
| 2005 | 2.26 deaths | -5.4% |
| 2006 | 1.87 deaths | -17.3% |
| 2007 | 1.93 deaths | +3.2% |
| 2008 | 1.73 deaths | -10.4% |
| 2009 | 1.85 deaths | +6.9% |
| 2010 | 2.08 deaths | +12.4% |
| 2011 | 2.2 deaths | +5.8% |
| 2012 | 1.99 deaths | -9.5% |
| 2013 | 1.99 deaths | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 2.14 deaths | +7.5% |
| 2015 | 2.28 deaths | +6.5% |
| 2016 | 3.26 deaths | +43.0% |
| 2017 | 4.67 deaths | +43.3% |
| 2018 | 3.41 deaths | -27.0% |
| 2019 | 3.58 deaths | +5.0% |
| 2020 | 3.87 deaths | +8.1% |
| 2021 | 3.95 deaths | +2.1% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 3.95 deaths is below the median for high income countries, which is 71.2 deaths, 6% of the median. (63 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 3.95 deaths is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 100.82 deaths, 4% of the median. (51 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.28 deaths | 1.73 deaths | 3.29 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.76 deaths | 1.99 deaths | 4.67 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.91 deaths | 3.87 deaths | 3.95 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More social development data for Iceland
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 8,459 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 (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 0 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0216 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 Iceland?
- Homicides in Iceland was 3.95 deaths in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 4.67 deaths in 2017.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.73 deaths in 2008.
- How does Iceland rank for homicides?
- Iceland ranks 181st out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 79.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland 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.