Homicides in Nigeria
Nigeria: Homicides was 18,463 deaths in 2021. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Nigeria, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 18,463 deaths for homicides in 2021. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 7.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Nigeria peaked at 18,463 deaths in 2021 and was at its lowest, 16,374 deaths, in 2000.
Nigeria ranks 6th of 194 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Homicides in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 16,374 deaths | — |
| 2001 | 16,534 deaths | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 16,947 deaths | +2.5% |
| 2003 | 16,776 deaths | -1.0% |
| 2004 | 16,884 deaths | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 17,227 deaths | +2.0% |
| 2006 | 16,996 deaths | -1.3% |
| 2007 | 17,011 deaths | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 17,028 deaths | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 17,020 deaths | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 17,110 deaths | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 17,229 deaths | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 17,286 deaths | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 17,573 deaths | +1.7% |
| 2014 | 17,868 deaths | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 18,026 deaths | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 18,210 deaths | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 18,250 deaths | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 18,305 deaths | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 18,407 deaths | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 18,394 deaths | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 18,463 deaths | +0.4% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 18,463 deaths is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 743.83 deaths, 24.8× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 18,463 deaths is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 971.62 deaths, 19.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 16,880 deaths | 16,374 deaths | 17,227 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 17,826 deaths | 17,110 deaths | 18,407 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 18,429 deaths | 18,394 deaths | 18,463 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More social development data for Nigeria
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 123,848 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 478,150 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.002 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 478,150 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0005 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 Nigeria?
- Homicides in Nigeria was 18,463 deaths in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 18,463 deaths in 2021.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 16,374 deaths in 2000.
- How does Nigeria rank for homicides?
- Nigeria ranks 6th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nigeria 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.