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Homicide rate

The UK ranks 19th of 28 on Homicide rate (2022)

The UK ranks 19th of 28 on Homicide rate in 2022: 1.119, unit intentional homicides per 100,000 people, against an EU27 median of 0.971. Source: World Bank Indicators (WDI and WGI), VC.IHR.PSRC.P5, snapshot of 6 November 2026.

Intentional homicides per 100,000 people (UNODC series via the World Bank).

Caveat. Small counts in small states make rates swing from year to year. Luxembourg, Malta and Cyprus are flagged, not removed.

The UK

Homicide rate

1.119intentional homicides per 100,000 people(2022)

19th of 28Moved up 1 place from 2016 to 2022.
EU27 median
0.971 intentional homicides per 100,000 people
UK minus EU27 median
+0.148 intentional homicides per 100,000 people

League table

Values in intentional homicides per 100,000 people. Countries ranked by value, 1 = top of the table, 28 with a value.

Homicide rate, 2022: league table of countries
1Italy0.5402022
2Cyprus0.6012022
3Slovenia0.6152022
4Spain0.6802022
5Poland0.7032022
6Portugal0.7202022
7Slovakia0.7672022
8Croatia0.7932022
9Netherlands0.7992022
10Czechia0.8152022
11Germany0.8162022
12Ireland0.8612022
13Austria0.8722022
14Hungary0.9712022
15Denmark0.9832022
16Belgium1.0802021†
17Sweden1.1062022
18Bulgaria1.1132022
19United KingdomUK1.1192021†
20Greece1.1242022
21France1.2392022
22Finland1.2392022
23Romania1.2892022
24Estonia1.4812022
25Malta1.5152022Malta 2022: homicide rate on very small counts, count unverified
26Luxembourg1.5312022Luxembourg: homicide rate on very small counts, count unverified
27Lithuania2.3782022
28Latvia3.5622022

latest available value, carried forward from an earlier year

Trend, 2000 to 2022

Homicide rate, 2000 to 2022Line chart, 2000 to 2022: the UK (heavy ink line), the EU27 aggregate (dashed dark line), Germany, France, Italy and Spain (solid lines), and reference countries (faint lines). Dotted segments are IMF projections and are not ranked. Shaded bands and markers show events.intentional homicides per 100,000 people024620002005201020152020123United States6Canada2France1United Kingdom1EU271Germany1Australia1Norway1Spain1Switzerland1Italy1Japan0Homicide rate, 2000 to 2022Line chart, 2000 to 2022: the UK (heavy ink line), the EU27 aggregate (dashed dark line), Germany, France, Italy and Spain (solid lines), and reference countries (faint lines). Dotted segments are IMF projections and are not ranked. Shaded bands and markers show events.intentional homicides per 100,000 people0246200020102020123United StatesCanadaFranceUnited KingdomEU27GermanyAustraliaNorwaySpainSwitzerlandItalyJapan
  • Heavy ink line: United Kingdom
  • France
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Dashed dark line: EU27 aggregate
  • Thin grey lines, reference countries (not the big four): Australia, Canada, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, United States
  • Shaded: 2008–09 financial crisis
  • Shaded: 2020–21 Covid-19 pandemic
  • Shaded: 2022–23 energy price shock
  • Marker 1: EU referendum (23 June 2016)
  • Marker 2: UK leaves the EU (31 January 2020)
  • Marker 3: Transition period ends; Trade and Cooperation Agreement in force (1 January 2021)
Trends show what happened, not why; Covid, energy prices and policy changes overlap the same years. Dotted lines are projections and are not ranked.

UK rank over time

Rank 1 is the top of the table; the line is drawn with rank 1 at the top. Each year is ranked on that year's values.

UK rank, 2000 to 2022: 12th to 19th10th12th15th18th21st20002005201020152020June 201619thUK rank, 2000 to 2022: 12th to 19th10th12th15th18th21st200020102020June 201619th

2000: 12th · 2022: 19th

Sources and method

Intentional homicides per 100,000 people (UNODC series via the World Bank).

Source: World Bank Indicators (WDI and WGI) · series VC.IHR.PSRC.P5· vintage 2026-10-08 · fetched 2026-11-06

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators / Worldwide Governance Indicators (CC BY 4.0); accessed 2026-11-06.

Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank open data default); WGI and some datasets carry their own terms in the Data Catalog metadata. Reuse with credit allowed, including derived figures.