In 2024, around 16.6 people were murdered per 100,000 inhabitants in Costa Rica. During the years prior to 2023, the homicide rate remained fairly stable, with figures varying between 9.5 and 12.1 per 100,000 inhabitants.

During 2024, Costa Rica recorded almost 43,000 crimes. The most common ones being theft with 14,937, robbery with 9,759, and burglary with 9,545 cases. In 2022, Costa Rica registered 611 homicide victims.

During 2024, Costa Rica recorded almost ****** crimes and around ** percent of them were registered in the province of San Jose. In 2024, Costa Rica registered under *** homicide victims.

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

349,4 (cases per 100,000 population) in 2020. “Burglary” means gaining unauthorised access to a part of a building/dwelling or other premises; including by use of force; with the intent to steal goods (breaking and entering). “Burglary” should include; where possible; theft from a house; appartment or other dwelling place; factory; shop or office; from a military establishment; or by using false keys. It should exclude theft from a car; from a container; from a vending machine; from a parking meter and from fenced meadow/compound. (UN-CTS M4.6)

In Costa Rica, the number of homicide victims remained steady bellow 600 per year since, at least, from 2016 to 2021. The number of people murdered in this Central American country amounted to 863 in 2023, up from 633 deaths reported a year earlier. Costa Rica's homicide rate had remained at around 11 victims per 100,000 inhabitants in recent years, until 2023.

11.2 (cases per 100,000 population) in 2020. “Intentional homicide” is defined as unlawful death purposefully inflicted on a person by another person

Costa Rica CR: Intentional Homicides: per 100,000 People data was reported at 11.409 Ratio in 2021. This records an increase from the previous number of 11.126 Ratio for 2020. Costa Rica CR: Intentional Homicides: per 100,000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 7.890 Ratio from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2021, with 32 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 12.075 Ratio in 2017 and a record low of 4.075 Ratio in 1991. Costa Rica CR: 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 Costa Rica – Table CR.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;

During 2023, only 29 percent of the homicides commited in Costa Rica were not related to the organized crime, whereas 71 percent were related to it. It's the highest rate ever recorded in the Central American country.

155.5 (cases per 100,000 population) in 2017. 'Assault' means physical attack against the body of another person resulting in serious bodily injury; excluding indecent/sexual assault; threats and slapping/punching. 'Assault' leading to death should also be excluded. (UN-CTS M3.2)

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.

The average for 2017 based on 79 countries was 105 robberies per 100,000 people. The highest value was in Costa Rica: 1587 robberies per 100,000 people and the lowest value was in Oman: 1 robberies per 100,000 people. The indicator is available from 2003 to 2017. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Costa Rica CR: Intentional Homicides: Male: per 100,000 Male data was reported at 17.892 Ratio in 2014. This records an increase from the previous number of 15.918 Ratio for 2013. Costa Rica CR: Intentional Homicides: Male: per 100,000 Male data is updated yearly, averaging 15.160 Ratio from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2014, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 20.723 Ratio in 2009 and a record low of 10.592 Ratio in 2000. Costa Rica CR: Intentional Homicides: Male: per 100,000 Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Costa Rica – Table CR.World Bank: Health Statistics. Intentional homicides, male are estimates of unlawful male 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.; ;

Costa Rica CR: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data was reported at 2.146 Ratio in 2014. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.532 Ratio for 2013. Costa Rica CR: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data is updated yearly, averaging 2.094 Ratio from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2014, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.890 Ratio in 2005 and a record low of 1.428 Ratio in 2001. Costa Rica CR: 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 Costa Rica – Table CR.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.; ;

17,7 (cases per 100,000 population) in 2023. “Intentional homicide” is defined as unlawful death purposefully inflicted on a person by another person

During 2023, there were *** victims of homicide in Costa Rica, where the crime was related to the organized crime. That was the highest number of homicides of this type ever recorded in the Central American country.

Costa Rica: Thefts per 100,000 people: Pour cet indicateur, The UN office on drugs and crime fournit des données pour la Costa Rica de 2003 à 2013. La valeur moyenne pour Costa Rica pendant cette période était de 333 thefts per 100,000 people avec un minimum de 167 thefts per 100,000 people en 2003 et un maximum de 697 thefts per 100,000 people en 2013.

Estimates of illegal wildlife trade vary significantly and are often based on incomplete datasets, inferences from CITES permits or customs seizures. As a result, annual global estimates of illegal wildlife trade can vary by several billions of US dollars. Translating these figures into species extraction rates is equally challenging, and estimating illegal take accurately is not achievable for many species. Due to their nesting strategies that allow for census data collection, sea turtles offer an exception. On the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, three sea turtle species (leatherback, Dermochelys coriacea; green, Chelonia mydas; and hawksbill, Eretmochelys imbricata) are exploited by poachers. Despite the consumption of turtle eggs and meat being illegal, they are consumed as a cultural food source and seasonal treat. Conservation programmes monitor nesting beaches, collect abundance data and record poaching events. Despite the availability of robust long-term datasets, quantifying the rate of poaching has yet to be undertaken. Using data from the globally important nesting beach, Tortuguero, as well as beaches Playa Norte and Pacuare on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, we modelled the spatial and temporal distribution of poaching of the three sea turtle species. Here, we present data from 2006 to 2019 on a stretch of coastline covering c.37 km. We identified poaching hotspots that correlated with populated areas. While the poaching hotspots persisted over time, we found poaching is declining at each of our sites. However, we urge caution when interpreting this result as the impact of poaching varies between species. Given their low abundance on these beaches, the poaching pressure on leatherback and hawksbill turtles is far greater than the impact on the abundant green turtles. We attribute the decline in poaching to supply-side conservation interventions in place at these beaches. Finally, we highlight the value of data sharing and collaborations between conservation NGOs.

In 2020, more than **** thousand property crimes were reported to the police in Costa Rica, a steep decrease from the more than ** thousand cases registered in 2019. Burglaries, which include break-ins to homes, commercial properties, and vehicles with the purpose of stealing other goods, were the most common type of property crime in 2020, with almost ** thousand cases.

Costa Rica was the Central American country with the highest theft rate by far. According to the latest data, it was estimated that approximately *** thefts were reported per 100,000 inhabitants. Panama registered ****** such crime reports per 100,000, the second highest figure.