Homicides in Panama
Panama: Homicides was 877.62 deaths in 2021. ▲ Rising
Latest (2021)
877.62 deaths
Change on year
up 9.1%
World rank
60th
of 194 countries
All-time high
986.86 deaths
in 2009
All-time low
361.96 deaths
in 2000
Years of data
22
2000–2021
Homicides in Panama, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
Panama recorded 877.62 deaths for homicides in 2021.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 9.1% on the previous year and down 2.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Panama peaked at 986.86 deaths in 2009 and was at its lowest, 361.96 deaths, in 2000.
Panama ranks 60th of 194 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Homicides in Panama, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 361.96 deaths | — |
| 2001 | 384.52 deaths | +6.2% |
| 2002 | 453.44 deaths | +17.9% |
| 2003 | 423.7 deaths | -6.6% |
| 2004 | 398.39 deaths | -6.0% |
| 2005 | 462.03 deaths | +16.0% |
| 2006 | 468.45 deaths | +1.4% |
| 2007 | 593.48 deaths | +26.7% |
| 2008 | 817.17 deaths | +37.7% |
| 2009 | 986.86 deaths | +20.8% |
| 2010 | 914.91 deaths | -7.3% |
| 2011 | 903.14 deaths | -1.3% |
| 2012 | 845.19 deaths | -6.4% |
| 2013 | 795.57 deaths | -5.9% |
| 2014 | 761.44 deaths | -4.3% |
| 2015 | 684.74 deaths | -10.1% |
| 2016 | 613.82 deaths | -10.4% |
| 2017 | 607.92 deaths | -1.0% |
| 2018 | 726.24 deaths | +19.5% |
| 2019 | 729.73 deaths | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 804.51 deaths | +10.2% |
| 2021 | 877.62 deaths | +9.1% |
Panama compared with similar countries
- Panama's 877.62 deaths is above the median for high income countries, which is 71.2 deaths, 12.3× the median. (63 countries reporting)
- Panama's 877.62 deaths is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 702.19 deaths, 1.2× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 535 deaths | 361.96 deaths | 986.86 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 758.27 deaths | 607.92 deaths | 914.91 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 841.07 deaths | 804.51 deaths | 877.62 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near Panama
- 57 Central African Republic 1,036 deaths compare
- 58 Papua New Guinea 1,035 deaths compare
- 59 Lesotho 907.22 deaths compare
- 61 Malaysia 858.4 deaths compare
- 62 United Kingdom 857.99 deaths compare
- 63 Somalia 848.81 deaths compare
More social development data for Panama
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,694 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 375 (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 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 375 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0006 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 Panama?
- Homicides in Panama was 877.62 deaths in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Panama?
- The highest recorded value was 986.86 deaths in 2009.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Panama?
- The lowest recorded value was 361.96 deaths in 2000.
- How does Panama rank for homicides?
- Panama ranks 60th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Panama?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Panama 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.