In 2024, there were approximately 25.4 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in the country, down from a homicide rate of 25.7 a year earlier. The homicide rate in Colombia has been stable since 2014 with the numbers varying between 24 and 26.8 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. Crime and corruption Approximately 31 percent of the population identifies corruption as the main problem of the country, with fraud emerging as the foremost committed corruption and economic felony in Colombia. Followed by instances where residents were either firsthand or indirectly encountered attempts to purchase electoral votes. These experiences stem from discontent with flawed democratic functioning, culminating with the country positioned among the Latin American nations most plagued by corruption. Moreover, Colombia's corruption index was 39, where 0 represents the worst corruption scenario. Notably, those entrusted with safeguarding public welfare—the police, congressional representatives, and presidential personnel—are implicated in these transgressions, thereby fostering a prevailing sense of insecurity among the population. Not an easy way out of drug trafficking Amidst the economic challenges stemming from an uneven distribution of wealth that predominantly favors merely one percent of the population, the youth demographic and individuals residing in rural areas are more inclined towards seeking a convenient route to monetary gains. This trend has the adverse consequence of resulting in land expropriation and engenders a state of insecurity for landowners, particularly concerning crop cultivation. The proliferation of narcotics has escalated significantly, prompting alarm within the government. These authorities have grappled with a persistent inability to curb the proliferation of this phenomenon. Notably, the cultivation and exportation of marijuana and cocaine stand out as the primary illegal undertaking, facilitated through international transport via land, aircraft, and maritime shipments.

Antioquia and Valle del Cauca were the departments where most homicides were recorded in Colombia throughout 2024, with 1,649 and 2,265 murders respectively. By contrast, only 2 homicide was registered in Guainía. In total, 13,341 homicides were recorded in Colombia. Homicides During 2024, Colombia ranked as the sixth South American country with the highest homicide rate. Even though Colombia ranks quite high, the homicide rate has remained stable for the last decade, between 24 and 26.8 cases per each 100,000 inhabitants. The situation with crime, poverty, and drug trafficking stays as barriers to the betterment of peace for the citizens.
How much does crime cost?
Crime always takes a toll on the economic development of a country, adding to the insecurity and instability of the country. As a consequence, governments spend a lot to try to stop the further development of crime. For example, Colombia’s public spending on order and security increased 220 percent from 2010 to 2023. And the economic cost of violence is estimated at over 274 billion U.S. dollars per year.

Historical dataset showing Colombia crime rate per 100K population by year from 1990 to 2021.

Firearms were the most common method used to commit murder in Colombia in 2024, causing more than ****** homicides. Sharp objects were used in nearly ***** murders in the South American country. Furthermore, Valle del Cauca and Antioquia were the departments where most homicides were recorded in Colombia throughout 2023.

Historical dataset showing Colombia murder/homicide rate per 100K population by year from 1990 to 2021.

In 2023, more than two-thirds of homicides in Colombia took place in municipal seats, with the figure now at 70.75 percent. Meanwhile, over 23 percent of the murders occurred in rural areast. Furthermore, most murders occurred in public spaces.

In 2024, the most common property crime recorded in Colombia was robbery against persons, with ******* cases. The second most common crime was vehicle theft, with nearly ****** incidents.

This is a brief description of the sources of our database.

We obtained data on rates of interpersonal violence and homicides from the Colombian Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Studies. Specifically, this institute records the total number of homicides and cases of interpersonal violence that occur in Barranquilla on a daily basis between the hours of 00:00 to 23:59. Interpersonal violence cases are non-lethal crimes comprised of the following categories: quarrels (86%), illegal detention, including kidnapping, hostage taking, etc. (6.6%), settling old scores (3.7%), illicit activities (1.4%), and stray bullet (0.1%).

We extracted our weather variables from the Colombian Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM, by its acronym in Spanish). The climate variables we use in this study relate to maximum temperature, average relative humidity, total precipitation, and average wind speed all of which are recorded by IDEAM daily. We also used the Heat Index which accounts for both temperature and humidity in its calculation and provides a measure of overall discomfort on any given day. The calculation of this Heat Index followed the formula provided by the NOAA (2018).

Data in relation to lunar cycles were obtained from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). This provides us with a variable that indicates the daily percent of illumination on the Moon’s surface.

Temporal variables reflecting public holidays and weekends were acquired by browsing Colombia’s calendar for every year of the study period.

We use the daily number of fines attributed to the “driving under the influence” felony as a proxy for alcohol consumption, and the daily registration of civilian vehicles as a proxy to reflect changes in overall economic conditions. We obtained information relating to both fines for drinking and driving and private vehicle registrations from the Secretaria Distrital de Movilidad, an entity adjacent to the Mayor’s office for the city of Barranquilla that regulates the city’s vehicular access and mobility.

The number of intentional homicides in Colombia surpassed ****** in 2021 and 2022, which represents a major increase versus the previous years. Between 2012 and 2020, the total number of murders in the South American country had steadily declined.

89 men aged between 20 and 24 years were murdered in Colombia throughout 2023. That age group also concentrates the third highest number of homicides of women, with ** murders of Colombian females recorded during the same year.

This study examines aggregate crime rates and the spatial distribution of violence against women (VAW) both before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. It also explores the influence of socioeconomic and situational factors on these trends. The analysis assesses potential variations across different pandemic phases by addressing the following research questions: (1) Did VAW incident rates change during the different pandemic phases? (2) Did the spatial distribution of VAW incidents per municipality in Colombia change before, during, and after the pandemic? and (3) What key determinants significantly impacted VAW rates during the study period? Given the documented global rise in domestic and intimate partner violence against women during the pandemic, we hypothesized an increase in VAW incidents in Colombia from 2020 to 2022. Furthermore, based on existing literature, we predicted that urban municipalities, poverty, lack of education, coca cultivation, and the presence of non-state armed actors would predict higher VAW at the municipality level. Finally, we expected statistically significant VAW hot spots to remain consistent at the municipality level throughout the pandemic stages, due to persistent underlying risk factors in these areas. The findings revealed a significant post-quarantine decrease in VAW incidents, followed by a significant increase after the economy's gradual reopening in September 2020. Notably, the geographical distribution of VAW remained consistent, with persistent 'hot spot' concentrations in the same areas across all study periods. Furthermore, urbanization and higher general violent crime rates consistently predicted higher VAW rates. Conversely, the presence of armed groups and coca production were significant negative predictors, while education's impact on VAW rates was mixed.

In 2024, around ******* kilograms of marijuana were seized in Colombia, up from ******* reported in the previous year. The amount of marijuana seized in the South American country peaked in 2020, with ******* kilograms.

Dataset is about the HSI Operation Popeye which was conducted in collaboration with partners in Italy, Colombia, and the United States to dismantle multiple organized crime groups operating in domestically and in Europe, while simultaneously disrupting a Colombian drug cartel representing one of the largest suppliers of cocaine and fentanyl to Europe and North America. Operation Popeye led to the seizure of 4.4 tons of cocaine, 66 kilograms of heroin, €1.85 million (approximately $2.04 million), and 63 arrests. This investigation leveraged HSI’s unique domestic and international authorities and resources to coordinate one of the largest and most complex undercover operations ever accomplished through United States and international law enforcement partnerships.

Replication Data for: "Is Murder Bad for Business? Evidence From Colombia"

The Robbery Incidents in Medellin database serves as a comprehensive repository of reported robbery incidents within the city limits. It aims to provide law enforcement agencies, policymakers, and researchers with valuable insights into the patterns, trends, and characteristics of robberies occurring in Medellin. The database covers a range of information, including the time, location, nature of the incident, items stolen, and any additional relevant details.

In 2024, there were *** homicides in the Colombian city of Medellín. This was the lowest figure recorded in this urban hub since 1980. Medellín suffered a wave of violence in the late 1980s and 1990s, with a peak of nearly ***** homicides in 1991.

Despite the common belief that police presence reduces crime, there is mixed evidence of such causal effects in major Latin America cities. In this work we identify the casual relationship between police presence and criminal events by using a large dataset of a randomized controlled police intervention in Bogotá D.C., Colombia. We use an Instrumental Variables approach to identify the causal effect of interest. Then we consistently estimate a Conditional Logit discrete choice model with aggregate data that allow us to identify agents’ utilities for crime location using Two Stage Least Squares. The estimated parameters allow us to compute the police own and cross-elasticities of crime for each of the spatial locations and to evaluate different police patrolling strategies. The elasticity of crime to police presence is, on average across spatial locations, −0.26 for violent crime, −0.38 for property crime and −0.38 for total crime, all statistically significant. Estimates of cross-elasticities are close to zero; however, spillover effects are non-negligible. Counterfactual analysis of different police deployment strategies show, for an optimal allocating algorithm, an average reduction in violent crime of 7.09%, a reduction in property crimes of 8.48% and a reduction in total crimes of 5.15% at no additional cost. These results show the potential efficiency gains of using the model to deploy police resources in the city without increasing the total police time required.

In 2023, the most frequent corruption and economic crime in Colombia was corruption with around ****** cases, followed by other acts of corruption with approximately ****** cases.

Among the almost ****** violent deaths reported in Colombia in 2023, approximately ****** were classified as homicides. Road fatalities were the second main cause of violent deaths, with ***** victims. If you or somebody you know requires help, you can find a list of suicide crisis lines and websites for countries around the world here.

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.