Homicides in Iraq
Iraq: Homicides was 5,478 deaths in 2021. ▼ Falling
Homicides in Iraq, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
Iraq recorded 5,478 deaths for homicides in 2021.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.8% on the previous year and up 7.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Iraq peaked at 6,287 deaths in 2005 and was at its lowest, 4,914 deaths, in 2010.
Iraq ranks 19th 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 Iraq, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 5,505 deaths | — |
| 2001 | 5,820 deaths | +5.7% |
| 2002 | 5,915 deaths | +1.6% |
| 2003 | 5,973 deaths | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 6,134 deaths | +2.7% |
| 2005 | 6,287 deaths | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 5,960 deaths | -5.2% |
| 2007 | 5,712 deaths | -4.2% |
| 2008 | 5,416 deaths | -5.2% |
| 2009 | 5,179 deaths | -4.4% |
| 2010 | 4,914 deaths | -5.1% |
| 2011 | 5,105 deaths | +3.9% |
| 2012 | 5,221 deaths | +2.3% |
| 2013 | 5,397 deaths | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 5,557 deaths | +3.0% |
| 2015 | 5,705 deaths | +2.7% |
| 2016 | 5,820 deaths | +2.0% |
| 2017 | 5,919 deaths | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 5,678 deaths | -4.1% |
| 2019 | 5,658 deaths | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 5,578 deaths | -1.4% |
| 2021 | 5,478 deaths | -1.8% |
Iraq compared with similar countries
- Iraq's 5,478 deaths is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 237.51 deaths, 23.1× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Iraq's 5,478 deaths is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 369.44 deaths, 14.8× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5,790 deaths | 5,179 deaths | 6,287 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 5,497 deaths | 4,914 deaths | 5,919 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 5,528 deaths | 5,478 deaths | 5,578 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near Iraq
More social development data for Iraq
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 322,345 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 270,671 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 5 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 5 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0058 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 270,671 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0069 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 Iraq?
- Homicides in Iraq was 5,478 deaths in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Iraq?
- The highest recorded value was 6,287 deaths in 2005.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Iraq?
- The lowest recorded value was 4,914 deaths in 2010.
- How does Iraq rank for homicides?
- Iraq ranks 19th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Iraq?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iraq 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.