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.

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.

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 murder/homicide 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.

Colombia CO: Intentional Homicides: per 100,000 People data was reported at 27.484 Ratio in 2021. This records an increase from the previous number of 24.243 Ratio for 2020. Colombia CO: Intentional Homicides: per 100,000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 41.880 Ratio from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2021, with 32 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 85.428 Ratio in 1991 and a record low of 24.243 Ratio in 2020. Colombia CO: Intentional Homicides: per 100,000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Colombia – Table CO.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Intentional homicides are estimates of unlawful homicides purposely inflicted as a result of domestic disputes, interpersonal violence, violent conflicts over land resources, intergang violence over turf or control, and predatory violence and killing by armed groups. Intentional homicide does not include all intentional killing; the difference is usually in the organization of the killing. Individuals or small groups usually commit homicide, whereas killing in armed conflict is usually committed by fairly cohesive groups of up to several hundred members and is thus usually excluded.;UN Office on Drugs and Crime's International Homicide Statistics database.;Weighted average;

Actual value and historical data chart for Colombia Intentional Homicides Per 100 000 People

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.

Colombia CO: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data was reported at 4.205 Ratio in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 4.362 Ratio for 2015. Colombia CO: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data is updated yearly, averaging 5.833 Ratio from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2016, with 17 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10.685 Ratio in 2001 and a record low of 4.205 Ratio in 2016. Colombia CO: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Colombia – Table CO.World Bank: Health Statistics. Intentional homicides, female are estimates of unlawful female homicides purposely inflicted as a result of domestic disputes, interpersonal violence, violent conflicts over land resources, intergang violence over turf or control, and predatory violence and killing by armed groups. Intentional homicide does not include all intentional killing; the difference is usually in the organization of the killing. Individuals or small groups usually commit homicide, whereas killing in armed conflict is usually committed by fairly cohesive groups of up to several hundred members and is thus usually excluded.; ; UN Office on Drugs and Crime's International Homicide Statistics database.; ;

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.

Colombia No. of Deaths: Caused by: Attacks (Homicides) & Consequences data was reported at 3,508.000 Person in Sep 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 3,256.000 Person for Jun 2024. Colombia No. of Deaths: Caused by: Attacks (Homicides) & Consequences data is updated quarterly, averaging 3,204.000 Person from Mar 2017 (Median) to Sep 2024, with 30 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3,608.000 Person in Jun 2021 and a record low of 497.000 Person in Jun 2017. Colombia No. of Deaths: Caused by: Attacks (Homicides) & Consequences data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Administrative Department of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Colombia – Table CO.G012: Number of Deaths: Cause of Death.

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.

The Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) collects crime reports from more than 500 New York State police and sheriffs' departments. DCJS compiles these reports as New York's official crime statistics and submits them to the FBI under the National Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. UCR uses standard offense definitions to count crime in localities across America regardless of variations in crime laws from state to state. In New York State, law enforcement agencies use the UCR system to report their monthly crime totals to DCJS. The UCR reporting system collects information on seven crimes classified as Index offenses which are most commonly used to gauge overall crime volume. These include the violent crimes of murder/non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault; and the property crimes of burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft. Police agencies may experience reporting problems that preclude accurate or complete reporting. The counts represent only crimes reported to the police but not total crimes that occurred.

Dataset

This dataset was created by Julian Usuga Ortiz

Contents

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

In 2023, the murders of at least 79 land activists or environmentalists were documented in Colombia, making it the deadliest year of the period under consideration. Small-scale farmers, indigenous and afro-descendent people were the main targets of these crimes in the South American country, which also documented the largest number of murders of activists and environmentalists in 2023.

The dataset contains a subset of locations and attributes of incidents reported in the ASAP (Analytical Services Application) crime report database by the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Visit https://crimecards.dc.gov for more information. This data is shared via an automated process where addresses are geocoded to the District's Master Address Repository and assigned to the appropriate street block. Block locations for some crime points could not be automatically assigned resulting in 0,0 for x,y coordinates. These can be interactively assigned using the MAR Geocoder.On February 1 2020, the methodology of geography assignments of crime data was modified to increase accuracy. From January 1 2020 going forward, all crime data will have Ward, ANC, SMD, BID, Neighborhood Cluster, Voting Precinct, Block Group and Census Tract values calculated prior to, rather than after, anonymization to the block level. This change impacts approximately one percent of Ward assignments.

In 2023, 159 cases of murder against members of the LGBTQ+ community were reported in Colombia. The gay men were the most common targets, with 60 cases, followed by trans women, with 45.

The purpose of this research was to further understanding of why crime occurs where it does by exploring the spatial etiology of homicides that occurred in Washington, DC, during the 13-year period 1990-2002. The researchers accessed records from the case management system of the Metropolitan Police, District of Columbia (MPDC) Homicide Division to collect data regarding offenders and victims associated with the homicide cases. Using geographic information systems (GIS) software, the researchers geocoded the addresses of the incident location, the victim's residence, and offender's residence for each homicide case. They then calculated both Euclidean distance and shortest path distance along the streets between each address per case. Upon applying the concept of triad as developed by Block et al. (2004) in order to create a unit of analysis for studying the convergence of victims and offenders in space, the researchers categorized the triads according to the geometry of locations associated with each case. (Dots represented homicides in which the victim and offender both lived in the residence where the homicide occurred; lines represented homicides that occurred in the home of either the victim or the offender; and triangles represented three non-coincident locations: the separate residences of the victim and offender, as well as the location of the homicide incident.) The researchers then classified each triad according to two separate mobility triangle classification schemes: Traditional Mobility, based on shared or disparate social areas, and Distance Mobility, based on relative distance categories between locations. Finally, the researchers classified each triad by the neighborhood associated with the location of the homicide incident, the location of the victim's residence, and the location of the offender's residence. A total of 3 statistical datasets and 7 geographic information systems (GIS) shapefiles resulted from this study. Note: All datasets exclude open homicide cases. The statistical datasets consist of Offender Characteristics (Dataset 1) with 2,966 cases; Victim Characteristics (Dataset 2) with 2,311 cases; and Triads Data (Dataset 3) with 2,510 cases. The GIS shapefiles have been grouped into a zip file (Dataset 4). Included are point data for homicide locations, offender residences, triads, and victim residences; line data for streets in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia; and polygon data for neighborhood clusters in the District of Columbia.

Between October 2021 and September 2022, at least 28 trans or gender-diverse people were murdered in Colombia, the largest number since, at least, the fiscal year of 2016. During that period of time, 235 trans persons were reported murdered in Latin America, making it the world's deadliest region for this community.