South Africa's intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) was 43.72 in 2022, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 45.03% from 30.15 in 2012 (3.79% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 43.72 | 2022 |
| Five years earlier | 35.28 | 2017 |
| Ten years earlier | 30.15 | 2012 |
| Highest | 60.34 | 1995 |
| Lowest | 29.35 | 2011 |
| Average since 2013 | 35.39 | 2013–2022 |
| First recorded | 59.01 | 1994 |
What the numbers say
In 2022, South Africa's intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) rose 2.78 on 2021 (from 40.94 to 43.72).
Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2021), the average change was −0.67 and a typical year strayed about 2.61 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 7.97 in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 5.99 in 1999. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2013 to 2022 the straight-line trend is upward, about 1.12 a year. A straight line explains 70% 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 2022, South Africa had the 3rd highest value of the 23 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 43.72 | 2022 |
| World | 5.2 | 2023 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 12.2 | 2023 |
| Upper middle income | 5.7 | 2023 |
Closest to South Africa in the 2022 ranking
- Turks and Caicos Islands — 1st of 23: 76.34
- Trinidad and Tobago — 3rd of 23: 40.44
- Bahamas, The — 4th of 23: 32.2
- Belize — 5th of 23: 28.06
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 29 values
| Year | Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 43.72 |
| 2021 | 40.94 |
| 2020 | 32.98 |
| 2019 | 35.79 |
| 2018 | 35.87 |
| 2017 | 35.28 |
| 2016 | 33.21 |
| 2015 | 32.92 |
| 2014 | 32.03 |
| 2013 | 31.13 |
| 2012 |
Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) in nearby economies
- Botswana — 11.37 (2021)
- Burkina Faso — 1.25 (2017)
- Cabo Verde — 6.99 (2020)
- Cameroon — 6.76 (2022)
- Eswatini — 12.51 (2021)
- Ghana — 1.83 (2022)
- Kenya — 4.87 (2022)
- Mauritius — 2.27 (2022)
- Namibia — 11.21 (2021)
- Rwanda — 3.61 (2020)
- Seychelles
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)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is South Africa's intentional homicides (per 100,000 people)?
- 43.72 in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1994?
- It is down 25.91% from 59.01 in 1994 (1.07% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 60.34 in 1995 and the lowest 29.35 in 2011.
- How does South Africa rank?
- 3rd highest of 23 economies with data for 2022.
- Is the latest change in intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) unusual for South Africa?
- In 2022, South Africa's intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) rose 2.78 on 2021 (from 40.94 to 43.72). Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2021), the average change was −0.67 and a typical year strayed about 2.61 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator VC.IHR.PSRC.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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