Homicides in New Zealand
New Zealand: Homicides was 62.46 deaths in 2021. ▬ Flat
Latest (2021)
62.46 deaths
Change on year
up 4.8%
World rank
141st
of 194 countries
All-time high
83.26 deaths
in 2009
All-time low
46.65 deaths
in 2014
Years of data
22
2000–2021
Homicides in New Zealand, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 62.46 deaths for homicides in 2021.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.8% on the previous year and up 15.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in New Zealand peaked at 83.26 deaths in 2009 and was at its lowest, 46.65 deaths, in 2014.
New Zealand ranks 141st of 194 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 62.59 deaths | 50.18 deaths | 83.26 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 57.32 deaths | 46.65 deaths | 62.69 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 61.04 deaths | 59.62 deaths | 62.46 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More social development data for New Zealand
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 2,148 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 58 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.849 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.927 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.885 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.849 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.581 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.787 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in New Zealand?
- Homicides in New Zealand was 62.46 deaths in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 83.26 deaths in 2009.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 46.65 deaths in 2014.
- How does New Zealand rank for homicides?
- New Zealand ranks 141st out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this New Zealand 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.