Homicides in Kenya
Kenya: Homicides was 3,087 deaths in 2021. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Kenya, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
In 2021, homicides in Kenya stood at 3,087 deaths. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
The figure is up 2.4% on the previous year and up 24.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Kenya peaked at 3,087 deaths in 2021 and was at its lowest, 1,388 deaths, in 2001.
Kenya ranks 28th of 194 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1,749 deaths | 1,388 deaths | 2,368 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 2,710 deaths | 2,472 deaths | 2,942 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 3,050 deaths | 3,014 deaths | 3,087 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More social development data for Kenya
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 617,125 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 13,325 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.563 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.9 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.793 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.563 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.335 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.446 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in Kenya?
- Homicides in Kenya was 3,087 deaths in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 3,087 deaths in 2021.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,388 deaths in 2001.
- How does Kenya rank for homicides?
- Kenya ranks 28th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya 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.