In 2024, there were approximately six homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in Nicaragua. Compared to the previous year, the murder rate decreased by less than one point. Still, Nicaragua's homicide rate ranked low among selected countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Robberies involving the use of force were the most common type of crime in Nicaragua in 2022. Around ***** such crimes were reported to the Nicaraguan police in that year. The second most frequent crime was theft, under which around ***** police reports were filed.

In 2022, around ****** crimes out of 146,000 in Nicaragua were registered in the department of Managua. Which represented the highest figure among all departments, followed from far by León and Matagalpa with ****** and ***** registered felonies respectively.

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

Robberies involving the use of force were the most common type of property crime in Nicaragua in 2021. Around *** thousand such crimes were reported to the Nicaraguan police in that year. The second most frequent crime against property was theft, under which around **** thousand police reports were filed.

In 2020, the percentage of the population aged over 18 who is very afraid of being a victim of crime in Nicaragua was estimated at approximately 23 percent. Between 2007 and 2020, the figure dropped by around 11 percentage points, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

The Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) is an academic institution hosted by Vanderbilt University that began with the study of democratic values in Costa Rica, but today carries out surveys in much of Latin America, Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. In 2004, LAPOP established the AmericasBarometer as multi-country, regularly conducted survey of democratic values and behaviors in the Americas, and the first round included voting-age respondents from 11 countries. LAPOP collected opinions on major problems facing the country and community, threats to security, attitudes towards the country's political system, and trust in government institutions. Also measured were respondents' participation in community organizations, attitudes towards government critics, voting behavior, confidence in local government, and the prevalence of crime. Demographic information collected includes nationality, ethnicity, native language, age, gender, education level, occupation, religion, and whether the respondent lives in an urban or rural area.

A total of 407 cases of murder or homicide were brought to the Nicaraguan police in 2023. Before 2018, the number of homicide and murder cases reported to the authorities had been consistently decreasing since 2010. Nicaragua is among the Latin American countries with the lowest homicide rates.

238 (number) in 2014.

The number of police officers per 100,000 inhabitants in Nicaragua increased almost by *** during the last 14 years. Robberies involving the use of force were the most common type of crime in Nicaragua in 2021.

Nicaragua: Kidnappings per 100,000 people: Pour cet indicateur, The UN office on drugs and crime fournit des données pour la Nicaragua de 2005 à 2010. La valeur moyenne pour Nicaragua pendant cette période était de 0.1 kidnappings per 100,000 people avec un minimum de 0.1 kidnappings per 100,000 people en 2006 et un maximum de 0.2 kidnappings per 100,000 people en 2005.

44 (number) in 2014.

During 2021, the police department of Nicaragua seized around *** metric tons of marihuana, which represents the highest reported volume. In contrast, the were no records of seized heroine or ecstasis. Robberies involving the use of force were the most common type of crime in Nicaragua in 2021.

102 (number) in 2014.

Central America continues to confront a complex mix of socio-economic and political headwinds in 2025. Most, if not all, contries in the region have faced slow recoveries from the pandemic, high costs of living, and in some cases political turmoil or endemic violence. Trust in government is fragile, migration pressures have surged – the United States has seen historic highs in migrant encounters at its southern border in recent years. Within the region, however, there are important contrasts: El Salvador’s aggressive anti-gang campaign has sharply reduced crime, while Nicaragua’s authoritarian crackdown has quashed dissent but driven tens of thousands into exile. Panama, a higher-income outlier, enjoys relative economic stability but struggles with inequality and a recent influx of transiting migrants.

To capture the “voices” of ordinary Central Americans in this context, GeoPoll conducted a computer-assisted telephone survey using random-digit dialing (RDD) in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. 1,750 adults were interviewed by phone, stratified by geography and and other demographics to ensure national representativeness in each of the countries. Interviews were conducted in Spanish, and respondents were assured of confidentiality to encourage honest feedback. Key research questions centered on:

• What are people’s biggest daily challenges and worries for the future?
• How do they view their personal safety and economic situation?
• Are they considering migration, and why?
• And what, in their own words, do they say about the role of governments and international actors in their lives?

Get the full report with commentary and analysis here: https://www.geopoll.com/blog/geopoll-report-voices-from-central-america/

336 (number) in 2014.

347 (number) in 2014.

The corruption perception index score in Nicaragua totaled 14 points in 2024. Compared to the previous year, this is a decrease of three points. This also represents the lowest score the country has reported since 2012. Further, Nicaragua continues to score low on the Index which means it ranks among the countries with the worst perceived corruption in Latin America. This index is a composite indicator that includes data on the perception of corruption in areas such as bribery of public officials, kickbacks in public procurement, embezzlement of state funds, and effectiveness of governments' anti-corruption efforts. The worst possible score in perception of corruption is 0, whereas a score of 100 indicates that no corruption is perceived in the respective country.

In 2024, Nicaragua had a risk index score of money laundering and terrorist financing of 6.4, a slight decrease in comparison to the previous year. Nevertheless, Nicaragua was the second country with the highest risk of money laundering and terrorist financing in Latin America that year. The Basel AML Index is a composite index, a combination of 16 different indicators with regards to corruption, financial standards, political disclosure and rule of law and tries to measure the risk level of money laundering and terrorist financing in different countries. The numbers used are based on publicly available sources such as the FATF, Transparency International, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum and are meant to serve as a starting point for further investigation.

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.