Homicides in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Homicides was 1,954 deaths in 2021. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Zimbabwe, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
The most recent figure for homicides in Zimbabwe is 1,954 deaths, measured in 2021. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
The figure is up 1.1% on the previous year and up 8.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Zimbabwe peaked at 1,954 deaths in 2021 and was at its lowest, 1,333 deaths, in 2000.
Zimbabwe ranks 42nd 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.
Homicides in Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1,333 deaths | — |
| 2001 | 1,406 deaths | +5.4% |
| 2002 | 1,518 deaths | +8.0% |
| 2003 | 1,538 deaths | +1.3% |
| 2004 | 1,579 deaths | +2.7% |
| 2005 | 1,553 deaths | -1.7% |
| 2006 | 1,511 deaths | -2.7% |
| 2007 | 1,538 deaths | +1.8% |
| 2008 | 1,576 deaths | +2.5% |
| 2009 | 1,688 deaths | +7.1% |
| 2010 | 1,823 deaths | +8.0% |
| 2011 | 1,805 deaths | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 1,769 deaths | -2.0% |
| 2013 | 1,809 deaths | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 1,823 deaths | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 1,855 deaths | +1.8% |
| 2016 | 1,896 deaths | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 1,891 deaths | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 1,905 deaths | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 1,916 deaths | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 1,934 deaths | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 1,954 deaths | +1.1% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 1,954 deaths is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 743.83 deaths, 2.6× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 1,954 deaths is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 971.62 deaths, 2.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1,524 deaths | 1,333 deaths | 1,688 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 1,849 deaths | 1,769 deaths | 1,916 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 1,944 deaths | 1,934 deaths | 1,954 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More social development data for Zimbabwe
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 8,570 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 6,632 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 6 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 6 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0004 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 6,632 (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 Zimbabwe?
- Homicides in Zimbabwe was 1,954 deaths in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 1,954 deaths in 2021.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,333 deaths in 2000.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for homicides?
- Zimbabwe ranks 42nd out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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.