South Africa: Intentional homicides, female (per 100,000 female)

Key figures

Over five years it is up 23.83% from 9.86 in 2017 (4.37% a year on average, compounded). Since 2006 it is up 16.65% from 10.46 in 2006 (0.97% a year on average, compounded). The World Bank has no value for 5 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2022, South Africa's intentional homicides, female (per 100,000 female) rose 1.92 on 2021 (from 10.28 to 12.2).

Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2021), the average change was −0.24 and a typical year strayed about 0.7 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.92 in 2022 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.36 in 2011. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

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

How it compares

In 2022, South Africa had the 2nd highest value of the 13 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 South Africa in the 2022 ranking

• Bahamas, The — 2nd of 13: 4.82
• Belize — 3rd of 13: 4.5
• India — 4th of 13: 2.37

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 12 values

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

• Mauritius — 1.57 (2022)
• Tanzania — 1.73 (2020)
• Uganda — 3 (2023)

More public sector data for South Africa

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 3.17 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 56.76 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 0.74% (2025)
• Arms exports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 115 million (2025)
• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 30 million (2025)
• Net incurrence of liabilities, total (current LCU) — 414.86 billion (2024)
• Net incurrence of liabilities, total (% of GDP) — 5.64% (2024)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 98.59 billion (2024)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 1.34% (2024)

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Questions people ask

What is South Africa's intentional homicides, female (per 100,000 female)?

12.2 in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2006?

It is up 16.65% from 10.46 in 2006 (0.97% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 12.2 in 2022 and the lowest 8.74 in 2011.

How does South Africa rank?

2nd highest of 13 economies with data for 2022.

Is the latest change in intentional homicides, female (per 100,000 female) unusual for South Africa?

In 2022, South Africa's intentional homicides, female (per 100,000 female) rose 1.92 on 2021 (from 10.28 to 12.2). Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2021), the average change was −0.24 and a typical year strayed about 0.7 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator VC.IHR.PSRC.FE.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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