Violent Crime Rates by Country 2022

Victims of violent crime are subjected to physical or verbal abuse by the perpetrator or perpetrators of the crime.

No matter where you live, the list of violent crimes might contain everything from killing to beating to rape to abduction to homicide to manslaughter to robbery (arson, harassment, negligence).

Violent crime comprises not just crimes in which the violent act is the primary purpose, such as in instances of murder or rape, but also crimes in which violence is the means to an end, such as robbery or extortion.

Violent crime rates vary widely across nations. A slew of elements influences crime rates, even though the causes of crimes are seldom recognized.

In countries with high crime rates, the poor and jobless are more inclined to resort to riskier, more desperate, and ethically dubious measures (which are often further enabled by underdeveloped law enforcement agencies).

Crime is less common in nations where the standard of life is good (rich), the police are strict, and the justice system is strict. Crime rates rise in direct proportion to an individual’s age. Most crimes, particularly serious ones, are perpetrated by persons aged 20-30.

Incidences of serious and violent crimes

Homicides claimed the lives of 464,000 individuals in 2017, according to the 2019 Global Study on Homicide by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. The paper claims that nations with high firearm prevalence have higher deliberate murder rates.

Europe has among the lowest rates of homicide and other forms of violent crime anywhere. There are fewer violent crimes per 100,000 individuals in several European nations than in the United States. These nations have tougher gun restrictions and reduced gun ownership and competition law enforcement.

The difficulty with worldwide violent crime statistics

It might be difficult to compare violent crime statistics in two distinct nations, states, or areas.

The fundamental difficulty is that “violent crime” is an umbrella phrase that encompasses a wide variety of offenses—and every nation (or state or area) has its list of that which crimes are included, its interpretation of each crime, and its ways of reporting and documenting those crimes.

For example, certain nations may consider burning a violent crime, while others may not. Victims of violent crime may have an easier time in certain nations than others in filing a police complaint (rape, in particular, tends to go unreported in some societies).

An apparent apples-to-apples comparison may quickly devolve into an apples-to-pretzels mismatch when various countries have different definitions of the same crime.

Finally, one nation may have thorough protocols for recording crime data and giving yearly updates, whereas another may have a far less strong system.

Because of these differences, it is difficult, if not impossible, to compile comprehensive worldwide statistics on violent crime. It’s easier to trust and use the statistics when it’s broken down into specific violent crimes, such [as murder rate by nation] (though still not perfect).

Top 11 Countries with the Highest Homicide Rates*

*Incidents per 100,000 persons – United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2018

1. El Salvador – 52.02
2. U.S. Virgin Islands (U.S. territory) – 49.28
3. Jamaica – 43.85
4. Lesotho – 43.56
5. Honduras – 38.93
6. Belize – 37.79
7. Venezuela – 36.69
8. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – 36.54
9. South Africa – 36.40
10. Saint Kitts and Nevis – 36.09
11. Nigeria – 34.52

The 10 countries with the highest rape rates per 100,000 inhabitants are listed below. Listed rates only reflect crimes that have been reported to the authorities.

1. Botswana – 92.93
2. Australia – 91.92
3. Lesotho – 82.68
4. South Africa – 72.10
5. Bermuda – 67.29
6. Sweden – 63.54
7. Suriname – 45.21
8. Costa Rica – 36.70
9. Nicaragua – 31.60
10. Grenada – 30.63

Statistical data on rapes by nation illustrates the difficulties in comparing data from one country to another—a plethora of variables clouds official rape statistics.

To begin with, the vast majority of rapes go unreported–up to 90% according to some estimates–particularly in nations where rape victims may be shunned or even killed in an honor killing by their own family.

Various nations have radically varying definitions of rape, some of which are significantly narrower than others.

For example, some nations regard marital rape as a non-crime or classify every instance of rape between the same two persons (say, an uncle and niece) as a single act. In these nations, fewer actions qualify as rape, and even those are likely to go undetected.

On the other hand, Sweden has a fairly wide definition of rape and provides good assistance for those who have been victimized by it.

This implies more incidents qualify as rape and the victims of such acts are more likely to report the crime. A high rape rate is thus expected in Sweden. It’s important to note that this is a false assumption.

Sweden would place towards the middle of the pack across Europe if one were to apply Sweden’s forward-thinking definition of sexual assault to every other nation.

On the other side, the frequency of rapes in most other top-10 nations (excluding Australia, whose definition is already extremely wide) would likely be significantly higher if they followed Sweden’s standards and reporting/support mechanisms.

The Top 10 Robbery Hotspots in the World***

*** Incidents per 100,000 persons – United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2018

1. Costa Rica – 1587.5
2. Argentina – 922.6
3. Uruguay – 866.8
4. Brazil – 695.8
5. Chile – 639.0
6. Nicaragua – 488.1
7. Ecuador – 419.7
8. Cabo Verde / Cape Verde – 408.6
9. South Africa – 331.7
10. Mexico – 257.7

Also Checkout: Murder Rate by Country 2022