Homicides in Jamaica
Jamaica: Homicides was 1,467 deaths in 2021. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Jamaica, 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 Jamaica is 1,467 deaths, measured in 2021.
The figure is down 1.7% on the previous year and up 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Jamaica peaked at 1,744 deaths in 2008 and was at its lowest, 677.63 deaths, in 2003.
That places Jamaica 48th out of 194 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Homicides in Jamaica, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1,119 deaths | — |
| 2001 | 1,213 deaths | +8.5% |
| 2002 | 717.89 deaths | -40.8% |
| 2003 | 677.63 deaths | -5.6% |
| 2004 | 1,087 deaths | +60.4% |
| 2005 | 1,658 deaths | +52.5% |
| 2006 | 1,218 deaths | -26.6% |
| 2007 | 1,710 deaths | +40.5% |
| 2008 | 1,744 deaths | +2.0% |
| 2009 | 1,720 deaths | -1.4% |
| 2010 | 1,575 deaths | -8.4% |
| 2011 | 1,442 deaths | -8.5% |
| 2012 | 1,341 deaths | -7.0% |
| 2013 | 1,341 deaths | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 1,335 deaths | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 1,409 deaths | +5.6% |
| 2016 | 1,516 deaths | +7.6% |
| 2017 | 1,647 deaths | +8.7% |
| 2018 | 1,507 deaths | -8.5% |
| 2019 | 1,508 deaths | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 1,492 deaths | -1.0% |
| 2021 | 1,467 deaths | -1.7% |
Jamaica compared with similar countries
- Jamaica's 1,467 deaths is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 237.51 deaths, 6.2× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Jamaica's 1,467 deaths is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 702.19 deaths, 2.1× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1,286 deaths | 677.63 deaths | 1,744 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 1,462 deaths | 1,335 deaths | 1,647 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 1,479 deaths | 1,467 deaths | 1,492 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
More social development data for Jamaica
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 31 (2022)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,642 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0009 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,642 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2022)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in Jamaica?
- Homicides in Jamaica was 1,467 deaths in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 1,744 deaths in 2008.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 677.63 deaths in 2003.
- How does Jamaica rank for homicides?
- Jamaica ranks 48th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Jamaica 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.