Jamaica: Intentional homicides, male (per 100,000 male)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Jamaica's intentional homicides, male (per 100,000 male) fell 6.96 on 2022 (from 98.51 to 91.55).

Across the 17 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2022), the average change was −0.77 and a typical year strayed about 13.88 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 19.03 in 2017 and the biggest yearly fall was 23.53 in 2018. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is upward, about 2.18 a year. A straight line explains 34% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2023, Jamaica had the 4th highest value of the 78 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Jamaica in the 2023 ranking

• St. Kitts and Nevis — 1st of 78: 124.96
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines — 2nd of 78: 92.91
• Ecuador — 4th of 78: 84.51
• St. Lucia — 5th of 78: 68.85
• Honduras — 6th of 78: 54.78

What this measures

An intentional homicide is defined as an unlawful death inflicted upon a person with the intent to cause death or serious injury.

Limitations: Statistics reported to the United Nations in the context of its various surveys on crime levels and criminal justice trends are incidents of victimization that have been reported to the authorities in any given country. That means that this data is subject to the problems of accuracy of all official crime data. The survey results provide an overview of trends and interrelationships between various parts of the criminal justice system to promote informed decision-making in administration, nationally and internationally. The degree to which different societies apportion the level of culpability to acts resulting in death is also subject to variation.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a aggregate values are computed by unodc. for additional information, please see the unodc website: https://dataunodc.un.org/sites/dataunodc.un.org/files/metadata_intentional_homicide.pdf.

All 19 values

Intentional homicides, male (per 100,000 male) in nearby economies

• Antigua and Barbuda — 20.27 (2023)
• Bahamas, The — 62.03 (2022)
• Barbados — 14.77 (2023)
• Belize — 51.25 (2022)
• Bolivia — 5.85 (2023)
• Brazil — 34.66 (2023)
• Chile — 11.36 (2023)
• Colombia — 46.95 (2023)
• Costa Rica — 33.09 (2023)
• Cuba — 7.12 (2019)

More public sector data for Jamaica

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 286.65 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 45.62 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.37% (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 4.1% (2025)
• Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) — 49.44 (2023)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 49.18 billion (2020)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 2.3% (2020)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU) — -60.51 billion (2020)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) — -2.83% (2020)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Jamaica's intentional homicides, male (per 100,000 male)?

91.55 in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2005?

It is down 17.99% from 111.62 in 2005 (1.1% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 112.49 in 2009 and the lowest 65.33 in 2014.

How does Jamaica rank?

4th highest of 78 economies with data for 2023.

Is the latest change in intentional homicides, male (per 100,000 male) unusual for Jamaica?

In 2023, Jamaica's intentional homicides, male (per 100,000 male) fell 6.96 on 2022 (from 98.51 to 91.55). Across the 17 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2022), the average change was −0.77 and a typical year strayed about 13.88 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator VC.IHR.PSRC.MA.P5, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: UNODC Research - Data Portal – Intentional Homicide, UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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