Homicides in Iran
Iran: Homicides was 2,513 deaths in 2021. ▼ Falling
Homicides in Iran, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
Iran recorded 2,513 deaths for homicides in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 22 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and down 10.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Iran peaked at 3,262 deaths in 2000 and was at its lowest, 2,513 deaths, in 2021.
That places Iran 32nd out of 194 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Homicides in Iran, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3,262 deaths | — |
| 2001 | 3,213 deaths | -1.5% |
| 2002 | 3,155 deaths | -1.8% |
| 2003 | 3,085 deaths | -2.2% |
| 2004 | 3,004 deaths | -2.6% |
| 2005 | 2,906 deaths | -3.3% |
| 2006 | 2,948 deaths | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 2,974 deaths | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 2,982 deaths | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 2,977 deaths | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 2,964 deaths | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 2,804 deaths | -5.4% |
| 2012 | 2,640 deaths | -5.9% |
| 2013 | 2,683 deaths | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 2,704 deaths | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 2,633 deaths | -2.6% |
| 2016 | 2,611 deaths | -0.8% |
| 2017 | 2,591 deaths | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 2,562 deaths | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 2,535 deaths | -1.0% |
| 2020 | 2,528 deaths | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 2,513 deaths | -0.6% |
Iran compared with similar countries
- Iran's 2,513 deaths is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 237.51 deaths, 10.6× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Iran's 2,513 deaths is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 369.44 deaths, 6.8× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3,051 deaths | 2,906 deaths | 3,262 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 2,673 deaths | 2,535 deaths | 2,964 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 2,521 deaths | 2,513 deaths | 2,528 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near Iran
More social development data for Iran
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 770,514 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 157,912 (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 0.0017 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 157,912 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0083 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 Iran?
- Homicides in Iran was 2,513 deaths in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Iran?
- The highest recorded value was 3,262 deaths in 2000.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was 2,513 deaths in 2021.
- How does Iran rank for homicides?
- Iran ranks 32nd out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iran 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.