Homicides in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Homicides was 736.57 deaths in 2021. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Saudi Arabia, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
Saudi Arabia recorded 736.57 deaths for homicides in 2021.
The figure is up 6.8% on the previous year and up 46.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Saudi Arabia peaked at 809.22 deaths in 2016 and was at its lowest, 320.36 deaths, in 2000.
Saudi Arabia ranks 69th 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 Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 320.36 deaths | — |
| 2001 | 352.58 deaths | +10.1% |
| 2002 | 381.94 deaths | +8.3% |
| 2003 | 394.5 deaths | +3.3% |
| 2004 | 415 deaths | +5.2% |
| 2005 | 423.59 deaths | +2.1% |
| 2006 | 419.95 deaths | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 424.82 deaths | +1.2% |
| 2008 | 434.47 deaths | +2.3% |
| 2009 | 445.77 deaths | +2.6% |
| 2010 | 462.5 deaths | +3.8% |
| 2011 | 502.75 deaths | +8.7% |
| 2012 | 550.91 deaths | +9.6% |
| 2013 | 577.77 deaths | +4.9% |
| 2014 | 594.72 deaths | +2.9% |
| 2015 | 764.49 deaths | +28.5% |
| 2016 | 809.22 deaths | +5.9% |
| 2017 | 577.61 deaths | -28.6% |
| 2018 | 628.92 deaths | +8.9% |
| 2019 | 645.7 deaths | +2.7% |
| 2020 | 689.47 deaths | +6.8% |
| 2021 | 736.57 deaths | +6.8% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 736.57 deaths is above the median for high income countries, which is 71.2 deaths, 10.3× the median. (63 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 736.57 deaths is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 369.44 deaths, 2.0× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Homicides in Saudi Arabia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | -28.6% | 809.22 deaths | 577.61 deaths |
| 2015 | +28.5% | 594.72 deaths | 764.49 deaths |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 401.3 deaths | 320.36 deaths | 445.77 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 611.46 deaths | 462.5 deaths | 809.22 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 713.02 deaths | 689.47 deaths | 736.57 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More social development data for Saudi Arabia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 448 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,368 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 7 (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 2,368 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 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 Saudi Arabia?
- Homicides in Saudi Arabia was 736.57 deaths in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 809.22 deaths in 2016.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 320.36 deaths in 2000.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for homicides?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 69th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 46.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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.