In 2024, the highest homicide rate among 22 Latin American and Caribbean countries surveyed was in Haiti, with around 62 murders committed per 100,000 inhabitants. Trinidad and Tobago came in second, with a homicide rate of 46, while Honduras ranked seventh, with 25. In the same year, the lowest rate was recorded in El Salvador, with a homicide rate of 1.9 per 100,000 inhabitants. A violence-ridden region Violence and crime are some of the most pressing problems affecting Latin American society nowadays. More than 40 of the 50 most dangerous cities in the world are located in this region, as well as one of the twenty countries with the least peace in the world according to the Global Peace Index. Despite governments’ large spending on security and high imprisonment rates, drug and weapon trafficking, organized crime, and gangs have turned violence into an epidemic that affects the whole region and a solution to this issue appears to be hardly attainable. The cost of violence in Mexico Mexico stands out as an example of the great cost that violence inflicts upon a country, since beyond claiming human lives, it also affects everyday life and has a negative impact on the economy. Mexicans have a high perceived level of insecurity, as they do not only fear becoming victims of homicide, but also of other common crimes, such as assault or rape. Such fear prevents people from performing everyday activities, for instance, going out at night, taking a taxi or going to the movies or the theater. Furthermore, the economic toll of violence in Mexico is more than considerable. For example, the cost of homicide and violent crime amounted to 2099.8 and 1778.1 billion Mexican pesos in 2023, respectively.

Several countries located in Central America and the Caribbean registered some of the highest homicide rates in the Latin American region in 2023. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ranked first, with around 51.32 homicides committed per 100,000 inhabitants. Jamaica came in second with 49.44 homicides per 100,000 people. The source defines intentional homicide as the unlawful death inflicted upon a person with the intent to cause death or serious injury. When it comes to the total case count, Brazil was the Latin American country with the largest number of homicide victims. Central America and the falling rates El Salvador was commonly named the murder capital of the world for a few years. The inability of previous governments to control organized crime and gangs resulted in the highest homicide rate in the world for a couple of years. Nonetheless, the current administration and the measures applied during the emergency state had an incredibly positive impact in terms of the security of the Salvadorean citizens. But not only El Salvador has seen a considerable reduction in its murder rate in Central America. Honduras and Guatemala are also two great examples of crime reduction, introducing new policies, institutions, and changes to their judicial system to achieve better results. The Caribbean is still ridden by crime Some islands in the Caribbean are not only known as tax heavens, as some nations in the region are considered the main enablers of tax evasion in the world, but also for being ridden by crime. Haiti is one example of the still-rising levels of criminality. As a country with precarious conditions and extreme food insecurity, the homicide rate has been on the rise for almost four consecutive years. Another one is Jamaica, at the top of the Latin American ranking, that has also seen an increase in the youth involved in organized crime due to lack of employment and economic conditions.

Between 2020 and 2023, motor vehicle theft has fluctuated around 3,00 and 4,000 thefts per year in the Dominican Republic. In 2023, 3,328 vehicle thefts.

Historical dataset showing Latin America & Caribbean crime rate per 100K population by year from 2010 to 2021.

Among the cities depicted in this statistic, Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, registered the highest homicide rate as of 2023. An average of 118 people every 100,000 inhabitants in this city were reportedly murdered. In Kingston, the Jamaican capital, the homicide rate was estimated at 55.35.

Jamaica is one of the most violent countries in the Caribbean. In 2024, there were approximately 40.1 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in the island nation. This was one of the highest homicide rate in Latin America and the Caribbean that year.

Historical dataset showing Latin America & Caribbean murder/homicide rate per 100K population by year from 2010 to 2021.

Dominica was the country with the highest burglary rate in the Caribbean in 2020. Up to *** home burglaries were reported per 100,000 population in this island nation. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines registered the second-highest rate, with *** such crime reports per 100,000 inhabitants.

This table focuses on the victimization of common crime of the population of the Caribbean Netherlands aged 15 and older in private households. These are traditional crimes such as violence, property crimes and vandalism. Breakdowns by sex, age and level of education are presented. These aspects are shown for the Caribbean Netherlands and also for the islands Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba separately. The research is a sample survey. This means that the figures shown are estimates for which reliability margins apply. These margins are also included in the table. The Omnibus survey was carried out for the first time on Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius in 2013 during the month of June and the first week of July. For the second time the Omnibus survey was carried out on Bonaire during the months of October and November 2017, and on Saba and St. Eustatius in the period January to March 2018. Data available from: 2013 Status of the figures: The figures in this table are final. Changes as of 4 April 2019 None, this is a new table. When will new figures be published? New data will be published every four years.

In 2024, the Mexican city of Colima was the second most deadly city in the world, with a murder rate of ****** per 100,000 inhabitants. * out of the top 10 cities with over ******* habitants and the highest homicide rates were located in Mexico.

In 2024, there were approximately 10 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in the Dominican Republic. Both the number of homicides committed in this Caribbean country and the murder rate have been decreasing since 2014, when over 18 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants were reported.

Cuba is one of the Caribbean nations with the highest prison population rate as of August 2024. According to the latest data available at that time, there were *** prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants on this island, followed by the Bahamas, with *** prisoners per 100,000 population. In some Caribbean countries, over ** percent of the prison population were foreign nationals.

Jamaica is one of the countries with the highest homicide rates in Latin America and the Caribbean. Indeed, the number of people murdered in Jamaica amounted to 1,141 in 2024, slightly down from 1,393 victims a year earlier.

This table provides data on the perception of (un)safety and the assessment of crime and safety by residents of the Caribbean Netherlands aged 15 years and older in private households. It concerns the perception of safety in general and the assessment of crime in one’s own neighbourhood. Breakdowns by sex, age and level of education are presented. These aspects are shown for the Caribbean Netherlands and also for the islands Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba separately. The research is a sample survey. This means that the figures shown are estimates for which reliability margins apply. These margins are also included in the table. The Omnibus survey was carried out for the first time on Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius in 2013 during the month of June and the first week of July. For the second time the Omnibus survey was carried out on Bonaire during the months of October and November 2017, and on Saba and St. Eustatius in the period January to March 2018.

Data available from: 2013

Status of the figures: The figures in this table are final.

Changes as of 4 April 2019 None, this is a new table.

When will new figures be published? New data will be published every four years.

In 2024, the homicide rate in Trinidad and Tobago stood at around 45.7 homicide victims per 100,000 population. The murder levels increased 8.1 points compared to a year earlier, when 37.6 homicides were registered per 100,000 inhabitants. In Latin America and the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago had one of the highest homicide rates that year.

In 2022, Grenada had the highest robbery rate in the Caribbean, with an estimated ***** incidents per 100,000 inhabitants. Dominica registered ******** such crime reports per 100,000 population, ranking second in the region.

Among the selected capitals of Latin America and the Caribbean, Port-au-Prince ranked first by far with the highest homicide rate. In total, around 139.31 homicides were recorded per 100,000 inhabitants. On the other hand, Santiago de Chile, Buenos Aires, and Sucre ranked with the lowest rates in the region.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines was the Caribbean country with the highest robbery rate. According to the latest data, it was estimated that approximately ***** robberies were reported per 100,000 inhabitants. Dominica registered ***** such crime reports per 100,000 population in 2019.

Some of the most populous countries in Latin America were also the nations that register the highest number of murders. Brazil was the country with the largest number of intentional homicides in the region with 44,367 victims. Mexico came in second, with 33,287 homicide victims, followed by Colombia with over 13,000 victims.

In 2022, there were approximately **** homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in the Bahamas, up from a homicide rate of ***** registered a year earlier. Over 100 people die as a result of intentional homicide in this Caribbean country every year.