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3. WORLD MURDER STATISTICS: THE COUNTRIES - NEW JULY 2003

        ALSO SEE - 2. WORLD MURDER STATISTICS: THE CITIES AND METROPOLITAN AREAS [Click at top on: Return to the information of general interest (Data Groups) table of contents.]

 

          Murder statistics are surprisingly hard to come by, and when you move out of the developed world, especially into dictatorships, almost impossible. And the reliability of those statistics that do exist, especially but not solely those of  unfree or underdeveloped countries, can sometimes be questioned. No country is proud of its murders. If you don't realize how hard the numbers are to find, pick a place and go to the Net now.
          Another problem is that some jurisdictions and countries lump involuntary manslaughter in with murder, these two making up "homicide" statistics. Except sometimes such statistics are still called "murder statistics". At other times involuntary manslaughter is left out. And it's not always made clear which is the case. However, involuntary manslaughter numbers are just a small percentage of overall homicide numbers, so whether they're added in or not the "murder" numbers are not significantly changed. Involuntary manslaughter is, of course, something of a legal fiction. It's an intended killing done "without malice", or done "unmaliciously in the heat of passion", or unintentionally while committing some sort of unlawful act. Sometimes it's nothing more than the charge the prosecutor felt he could make stick, even though a murder was the real act.
           Over the years I've accumulated murder statistics from various sources, and here I present what I've come up with, raw. In some cases the sources disagree on a particular place in a particular year. This could involve later re-categorization (it's decided a murder was actually an accident, for instance), the discovery of new bodies, all sorts of factors. I don't list my sources, in order to provide a fast, clean visual look. But if you still want them, write me or e-mail and I'll provide them. I am also most open to additions or corrections (but provide your sources).
          And my conclusions about the murderous pageant to follow? I'll save conclusions for the essay portion of my website. But just be aware-- these lists of murders-- are human passion, hatred, fear, greed, moral deadness-- and above all failure.

                   

                     ARGENTINA (1994 -34,179,000)
          1994 - 1,541

                    ARMENIA (2000 - 3,344,000)
          2000 - 127

                    AUSTRALIA (1991 - 16,850,000)
                                          (2001 - 18,972,000)
          1990's - 3,386
          1994 - 332
          1995 - 326
          1996 - 312
          1997 - 321
          1998 - 285
          1999 - 343
          2000 - 302
          2001 - 311
          2002 - 318

                    AUSTRIA (1994 - 8,030,000)
          1994 - 94

                    AZERBAIJAN (2000 - 7,748,000)
          1995 - 148
          2000 - 226

                    BELARUS (2000 - 10,367,000)
          2000 - 1,013

                    BELGIUM (1990 - 9,967,000)
          1990 - 141

                    BRAZIL (1993 - 160,737,000)
          1988 CHILDREN 5-17:  5,644
          1993 - 30,605
          1998 - 35,659
          2003 - Over 40,000 (about 90% by guns)

                    BULGARIA (1985 - 9,010,000)
                                        (2000 - 7,797,000)
          1980 - 372
          1981 - 351
          1982 - 374
          1983 - 348
          1984 - 361
          1985 - 341
          1986 - 313
          2000 - 332

                    CANADA (1970 - 21,324,000)
                                      (2000 - 31,278,000)
          1971 - 426
          1972 - 478
          1973 - 475
          1974 - 539
          1975 - 701 (Another source: 721)
          1976 - 626
          1977 - 707
          1978 - 658
          1979 - 631
          1980 - 593
          1981 - 647
          1982 - 670
          1983 - 682
          1997 - 586
          1998 - 558
          1999 - 538
          2000 - 542
          2001 - 553
          2002 - 582 (149 by gun; two-thirds of these handguns. Before 1990, one-third of gun murders involved handguns.
                              182 killed by family member, half of these the spouse.
                              44% of female victims killed by someone they were in a relationship with, only 8% for male victims.
                              Men 90% of accused and two-thirds of victims.
                              Almost two-thirds of accused had criminal records.)

                    CHILE (2000 - 15,154,000)
          2000 - 235

                    COLOMBIA (2000 - 39,686,000)
          1986 - About 11,000
          1996 - 24,225
          1998 - 23,096
          1999 - 23,172 (90% of killings went unpunished)
          2000 - 26,539
          2002 - 32,000+ (5,500 "politically motivated". 5,000 "social cleansing operations" against gays, prostitutes and drug addicts, generally by right-wing paramilitaries.)

                    COSTA RICA (2000 - 3,711,000)
          1999 - 245
          2001 - 260

                    CZECH REPUBLIC (2000 - 10,272,000)
          2000 - 174

                    DENMARK (2000 - 5,336,000)
          1993 - 63
          2000 - 58

                    DOMINICA (2000 - 72,000)
          2000 - 2

                    EGYPT (1977 - 40,000,000)
                                 (2000 - 68,360,000)
          1977 - 1,353
          1995 - 819 (52 were "crimes of honor"-- killing a "fallen" female relative)

                    ENGLAND & WALES (Also see: United Kingdom) (1900 - 33,000,000)
                                                                                                     (1950 - 44,000,000)
                                                                                                     (1975 - 49,000,000)
                                                                                                     (2000 - 54,000,000)
          1890 (England alone?) - About 377
          1918-1939: Averaged about 300 a year
          1938 - 100
          1939 - 135
          1940 - 115
          1941 - 135
          1942 - 159
          1943 - 120
          1944 - 95
          1945 - 141
          1946 - 347
          1947 - 371
          1948 - 341
          1949 - 298
          1950 - 346
          1951 - 328
          1952 - 400
          1953 - 327
          1954 - 311
          1955 - 279
          1956 - 315
          1957 - 321
          1958 - 261
          1959 - 266
          1960 - 282
          1961 - 265
          1962 - 299
          1963 - 307
          1964 - 296
          1965 - 325
          1966 - 364
          1967 - 354
          1968 - 360
          1969 - 332
          1970 - 339
          1971 - 407
          1972 - 409
          1973 - 391
          1974 - 526
          1975 - 443
          1976 - 488
          1977 - 418
          1978 - 471 (35 by guns)
          1979 - 546
          1980 - 549
          1981 - 499
          1982 - 557
          1983 - 482
          1984 - 537
          1985 - 536
          1986 - 563
          1987 - 599
          1988 - 547
          1989 - 521
          1990 - 555
          1991 - 623
          1992 - 581
          1993 - 566
          1994 - 632
          1995 - 663
          1996 - 585
          1997 - 612
          1998 - 612
          1999 - 663
          2000 - 728

                    ESTONIA (2000 - 1,431,000)
          2000 - 143

                    FINLAND (1975 - 4,750,000)
                                      (2000 - 5,167,000)
          1970 - 56
          1980 - 111
          1990 - 145
          1994 - 165
          1995 - 146
          1996 - 153
          1997 - 139
          1998 - 113
          1999 - 142
          2000 - 146
          2001 - 155
          2002 - 131

                    FRANCE (1893 - 38,219,000)
                                    (2000 - 59,330,000)
          1890 - About 662
          1994 - 649
          2000 - 1,051

                    GEORGIA (2000 - 5,020,000)
          2000 - 239

                    GERMANY (2000 - 82,797,000)
          1994 - 952
          2000 - 960

                    GERMANY, EAST (1969 - 17,096,000)
          1970 - 136

                    GREECE (2000 - 10,602,000)
          1994 - 119
          2000 - 81

                    GUATEMALA (1986 - 8,249,000)
          1986 - About 2,400

                    GUN MURDERS (Handguns & Long Guns)
          1993  U.S.A. - 16,189
          1994  BRITAIN - 33
                    JAPAN - 38
                    U.S.A. - 13,673

                    HAITI (1998 - 6,781,000)
          1994 - About 365

                    HANDGUN MURDERS
          1974  JAPAN - 37 (34 by gangsters)
          1980  AUSTRALIA - 4
                    BRITAIN - 8
                    CANADA - 8
                    ISRAEL - 23
                    JAPAN - 77
                    SWEDEN - 18
                    SWITZERLAND - 24
                    U.S.A. - 11,522
          1988  BRITAIN - 7
                    CANADA - 8
                    SWEDEN - 19
                    SWITZERLAND - 53
                    U.S.A. - 8,915
          1990  U.S.A. - 25 a day (also - 575 gun robberies and 1,116 assaults daily)
          1992  AUSTRALIA - 13
                    CANADA - 128
                    JAPAN - 60
                    SWEDEN - 36
                    SWITZERLAND - 97
                    UNITED KINGDOM - 33
                    U.S.A. - 13,429
          1996  AUSTRALIA - 13
                    BRITAIN - 30
                    CANADA - 106
                    GERMANY - 213
                    JAPAN - 15
                    NEW ZEALAND - 2
                    U.S.A. - 9,390

                    HUNGARY (2000 - 10,139,000)
          1994 - 362
          2000 - 205
          PRIOR TO 2002 - 3 killed in bank robberies in 25 years

                    ICELAND (2000 - 276,000)
          1999 - 5

                    INDIA (2000 - 1,014,004,000)
          1999 - 37,170
          PERSONS KILLED IN COMMUNAL VIOLENCE 1954 - 1985:
          1954 - 34
          1955 - 24
          1956 - 35
          1957 - 12
          1958 - 7
          1959 - 41
          1960 - 14
          1961 - 108
          1962 - 43
          1963 - 26
          1964 - 1,919
          1965 - 34
          1966 - 45
          1967 - 251
          1968 - 133
          1969 - 673
          1970 - 298
          1971 - 103
          1972 - 69
          1973 - 72
          1974 - 87
          1975 - 33
          1976 - 39
          1977 - 36
          1978 - 110
          1979 - 261
          1980 - 372
          1981 - 196
          1982 - 238
          1983 - 1,143
          1984 - 445
          1985 - 328
          MURDERS OF "UNTOUCHABLES" ("DALIT", "HARIJAN") PER DAY 2003 - 2

                    INDONESIA (2000 - 224,784,000)
          2000 - 2,204

                    IRELAND (2000 - 3,797,000)
          1991 - 22
          1999 - 40 (Another source: 38)

                    IRELAND, NORTHERN (includes political killings [except 1953, 1994[?]) (1978 - 1,540,000)
          1953 - 3 (In some years in the 1940's and 1950's there were none.)
          1969-1985: 2,466
          1970-1989: 2,787
          1994 - 100

                    ISRAEL (1993 - 5,262,000)
          1982 - 52 (includes terrorism)
          1993 - 122 (including terrorism?)

                    ITALY (1893 - 29,700,000)
                                (1969 - 53,170,000)
                                (1992 - 56,765,000)
          1890 - About 2,470
          1976 - 700
          1989 - 1,500
          1992 - 1,277
          2000 - 746

                    JAMAICA (2000 - 2,653,000)
          1996 - 925
          1997 - 1,050
          1998 - 953
          2001 - 1,139
          2002 - 1,045

                    JAPAN (2000 - 126,550,000)
          1977 - 1,125
          1984 - 1,762
          1985 - 1,780 (in almost all the victim knew killer)
          1986 - 1,676
          1987 - 1,584
          1988 - 1,441
          1989 - 1,308
          1990 - 1,238
          1991 - 1,215
          1992 - 1,227
          1993 - 1,233
          1994 - 1,279
          1995 - 1,281
          1996 - 1,218
          1997 - 1,282
          1998 - 1,388
          1999 - 1,265
          2000 - 1,391
          2001 - 1,340

                    JORDAN (2000 - 4,999,000)
          1998 - About 100 (25 were "crimes of honor"-- killing a "fallen" female relative)

                    KOREA, SOUTH (2000 - 47,471,000)
          1994 - 720
          2000 - 955

                    KUWAIT (1995 - 1,685,000)
          1995 - 17

                    KYRGYZSTAN (2000 - 4,685,000)
          2000 - 413

                    LATVIA (2000 - 2,405,000)
          2000 - 238

                    LITHUANIA (2000 - 3,621,000)
          1988 - 143
          1989 - 155
          1990 - 224
          1991 - 260
          1992 - 303
          1993 - 480
          1994 - 523
          1995 - 502
          2000 - 370

                    MACEDONIA (2000 - 2,041,000)
          2000 - 47

                    MALAYSIA (2000 - 21,793,000)
          2000 - 551

                    MAURITIUS (2000 - 1,179,000)
          1993 - 25
          2000 - 26

                    MEXICO (2000 - 100,350,000)
          1994 - 15,842
          2000 - 13,829

                    MOLDOVA (2000 - 4,431,000)
          2000 - 348

                    NAMIBIA (1998 - 1,622,000)
          1998 - 730

                    NETHERLANDS (2000 - 15,892,000)
          1990 - 230
          1991 - 217
          1992 - 249
          1993 - 265
          1994 - 235
          1995 - 273
          1996 - 273
          2000 - 183

                    NEW ZEALAND (2000 - 3,820,000)
          2000 - 45

                    NORWAY (2000 - 4,481,000)
          1991 - 51
          1992 - 46
          1993 - 39
          1994 - 34
          1995 - 43
          1996 - 43
          1997 - 38
          1998 - 38
          1999 - 37
          2000 - 49

                    PAPUA NEW GUINEA (2000 - 4,927,000)
          2000 - 465

                    PHILIPPINES (1996 - 72,000,000)
          1996 - 11,664

                    POLAND (2000 - 38,646,000)
          1989 - 556
          1995 - 1,134
          2000 - 2,170

                    PORTUGAL (2000 - 10,048,000)
          2000 - 302

                    PUERTO RICO (2000 - 3,809,000)
          1994 - 995
          2001 - 744
          2002 - 774

                    QATAR (2000 - 744,000)
          2000 - 1

                    ROMANIA (2000 - 22,411,000)
          2000 - 560

                    RUSSIA (Also see: Soviet Union) (2000 - 146,001,000)
          1991 - 16,122
          1992 - 23,006
          1993 - 29,213
          1995 - 30,600
          1998 - 29,372
          2000 - 31,829
          2001 - About 34,000

                    SAUDI  ARABIA (2000 - 22,024,000)
          1984 - 85
          1995 - 141
          1996 - 146
          1997 - 138
          1998 - 92
          1999 - 172
          2000 - 147

                    SCOTLAND (1992 - 5,111,000)
          1978-1987: Average 88
          1988 - 81
          1989 - 97
          1990 - 80
          1991 - 89
          1992 - 136
          1993 - 116
          1994 - 111
          1995 - 133
          1996 - 138
          1997 - 88
          1998 - 100
          1999 - 120 (only 1 case unsolved)
          2000 - 105
          2001 - 107

                    SEYCHELLES (2000 - 79,000)
          2000 - 6

                    SINGAPORE - See Data Group 2

                    SLOVAKIA (2000 - 5,408,000)
          2000 - 143

                    SLOVENIA (2000 - 1,928,000)
          1994 - 40
          2000 - 36

                    SOUTH AFRICA (Obvious discrepancy below between 1993 and 1994-2000 statistics, which are from different sources. Typical of what murder statistic researchers find. The 1994-2000 South Africa Police Service statistics are presumably most accurate.)
                                                 (2000 - 43,421,000)
          1990 - About 13,000 (around 3,500 "politically motivated")
          1993 - 17,467
          1994 - 26,832
          1995 - 26,637
          1996 - 25,782
          1997 - 24,588
          1998 - 24,875
          1999 - 23,823
          2000 - 21,683

                    SOVIET UNION (Also see: Russia) (1990 - 290,122,000)
          1986 - 14,848
          1987 - 14,651
          1988 - 16,710
          1989 - 13,543
          1990 - 15,566

                    SPAIN (1893 - 17,550,000)
                                (2000 - 39,997,000)
          1890 - About 1,200
          1976 - 111
          1993 - 371
          2000 - 494

                    SWAZILAND (1998 - 966,000)
          1998 - 174

                    SWEDEN (1993 - 8,719,000)
          1980's: About 120-150 a year
          1990 - 121
          1993 - 113
          1997 - 157
          2001 - 167

                    SWITZERLAND (2000 - 7,262,000)
          1978 - 39
          1994 - 93
          1997 - 87
          2000 - 69

                    TAIWAN (1996 - 21,979,000)
          1996 - 1,785

                    TANZANIA (1970 - 13,000,000)
                                         (2000 - 35,306,000)
          1975 - 1,226

                    THAILAND (2000 - 61,231,000)
          1995 - 4,542  (only 2,075 arrested)
          1996 - 4,474  (1,934)
          1997 - 4,485  (1,091)
          1998 - 5,717  (2,168)
          1999 - 4,648  (1,802)
          2000 - 5,135  (2,043)

                    TUNISIA (2000 - 9,593,000)
          2000 - 113

                    UKRAINE (2000 - 49,153,000)
          2000 - 4,418

                    UNITED KINGDOM (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) (Also see: England & Wales) (2000 - 59,508,000)
          2000 - 850

                    UNITED STATES (Also see: Gun Murders, Handgun Murders) (1940 - 132,164,000)
                                                                                                                      (1960 - 179,323,000)
                                                                                                                      (1970 - 203,302,000)
                                                                                                                      (1980 - 226,542,000)
                                                                                                                      (1990 - 248,710,000)
                                                                                                                      (2000 - 281,422,000)
          1939 - 7,514
          1940 - 7,540
          1941 - 7,562
          1960 - 9,110
          1961 - 8,740
          1962 - 8,530
          1963 - 8,640
          1964 - 9,360
          1965 - 9,960
          1966 - 11,040
          1967 - 12,240
          1968 - 13,800
          1969 - 14,760
          1970 - 16,000
          1971 - 17,780
          1972 - 18,670
          1973 - 19,640 (10,000 by handguns, 1,200 by long guns)
          1974 - 20,711
          1975 - 20,505
          1976 - 18,784
          1977 - 19,121
          1978 - 19,555
          1979 - 21,456
          1980 - 23,044
          1981 - 22,516
          1982 - 21,012
          1983 - 19,308
          1984 - 18,692
          1985 - 18,980
          1986 - 20,610
          1987 - 21,010
          1988 - 20,680
          1989 - 21,500
          1990 - 23,440
          1991 - 24,700 (Record)
          1992 - 23,760 (1,431 killed by boyfriends or husbands)
          1993 - 24,526
          1994 - 23,330
          1995 - 21,610
          1996 - 19,645 (125 by people 75 or older [only 3 of these women])
          1997 - 18,209
          1998 - 16,914
          1999 - 15,522 (692 youth-gang homicides)
          2000 - 15,517
          2001 - 15,982
          2002 - 16,204 (64% solved) (How murders committed: 71.0% firearms
                                                                                                13.4    knife
                                                                                                  7.1    hands or feet
                                                                                                  5.1    blunt object
                                                                                                  3.4    other [arson, poisoning, etc.])
                                                                              (youth-gang homicides in 2002: over 1,100)

                    URUGUAY (3,453,000)
          2000 - 174

                    VENEZUELA (2000 - 23,543,000)
          INMATES MURDERED IN PRISON 1/90-4/94: 2,138
          2000 - 8,022
          MURDERS IN PRISONS 1994-2000: Average  256 a year
          SUSPECTED CRIMINALS KILLED BY POLICE 2000: At least 2,000
          2001: Nearly 8,000
          2002: Over 9,000

                    YEMEN (2000 - 17,479,000)
          2000 - 697

                    ZAMBIA (2000 - 9,582,000)
          2000 - 797

                    ZIMBABWE (2000 - 11,343,000)
          1998 - 994
          2000 - 912
         

   

                                                          

   

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