Half as many people died from homicides in Colombia in recent years than only a few decades ago.
In the 1990s, more than 60 people per 100,000 were killed in homicides each year, according to data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Homicide was the cause of 15% of all deaths at the time.
The homicide rate has fallen significantly since then, as the chart shows. In 2021, it was around 27 homicides per 100,000 people.
The country’s rate is now much closer to the regional rate of the Americas, at 15 homicides per 100,000 people.
Still, this means that homicides are almost twice as common in Colombia than in its world region, and more than 13 times as common than in Europe — the safest world region — with only 2 homicides per 100,000 people.
