Countries in South America by homicide rate
Intentional homicides in a year for every 100,000 people, from police and health records collected by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Records are uneven, so figures up to seven years old are shown. 12 countries in South America, highest first. World Bank, mostly 2023
Median country
9.9
half above, half below| # | Country | Per 100,000 people | Year | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ecuador | 45.7 | 2023 | South America |
| 2 |  Colombia | 24.9 | 2023 | South America |
| 3 |  Brazil | 19.3 | 2023 | South America |
| 4 |  Guyana | 19.1 | 2023 | South America |
| 5 |  Venezuela | 12.6 | 2022 | South America |
| 6 |  Uruguay | 11.2 | 2023 | South America |
| 7 |  Peru | 8.6 | 2021 | South America |
| 8 |  Paraguay | 6.8 | 2023 | South America |
| 9 |  Suriname | 6.5 | 2023 | South America |
| 10 |  Chile | 6.3 | 2023 | South America |
| 11 |  Argentina | 4.5 | 2023 | South America |
| 12 |  Bolivia | 4.4 | 2023 | South America |
Questions
- Which country in South America has the highest homicide rate?
- Ecuador has the highest homicide rate in South America: 45.7 homicides per 100,000 people (2023). Next come Colombia (24.9 homicides per 100,000 people) and Brazil (19.3 homicides per 100,000 people).
- Which country in South America has the lowest homicide rate?
- Bolivia, with 4.4 homicides per 100,000 people (2023).
- What is the typical homicide rate of a country in South America?
- The median of the 12 countries in South America is 9.9 homicides per 100,000 people: half are above it, half below. The median, not the average, because a few countries at the top would drag an average far above almost everyone.
- Where do the figures come from?
- Intentional homicides in a year for every 100,000 people, from police and health records collected by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Records are uneven, so figures up to seven years old are shown. Source: World Bank, mostly 2023. Only independent states are ranked; territories are listed separately. A country’s continent follows Natural Earth; the handful of island states it files under the open ocean are placed by their UN subregion.
Source: World Bank (CC BY 4.0). Figures more than 7 years older than the newest are left out rather than shown beside current ones. Countries sharing a value share a rank. All sources.