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.

In 2023, in total 10,122 violent criminal cases have been reported to the police in Hong Kong. The most cases were related to serious assault, while only 28 murder and manslaughter cases were registered that year.

In 2023, in total 90,276 criminal cases have been reported to the police in Hong Kong. The number of crimes recorded decreased gradually until 2018, but increased again thereafter.

Hong Kong crime rate per 100K population for 2021 was 0.31, a 4.64% increase from 2020.

• Hong Kong crime rate per 100K population for 2020 was 0.29, a 8.4% decline from 2019.
• Hong Kong crime rate per 100K population for 2019 was 0.32, a 50.09% decline from 2018.
• Hong Kong crime rate per 100K population for 2018 was 0.64, a 99.44% increase from 2017.

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.

Hong Kong HK: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data was reported at 0.967 Ratio in 2013. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.316 Ratio for 2012. Hong Kong HK: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data is updated yearly, averaging 0.506 Ratio from Dec 2004 (Median) to 2013, with 10 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.967 Ratio in 2013 and a record low of 0.239 Ratio in 2011. Hong Kong HK: 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 Hong Kong SAR – Table HK.World Bank.WDI: 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.; ;

Crime Statistics Comparison

Computer crime has become an alarming problem in Hong Kong since 2020. In the recent decade, the number of computer crime incidents increased by seven folds. In 2022, the figure approached 22,800 cases, representing a year-over year growth of over 40 percent.

In 2023, in total 80,154 non-violent criminal cases have been reported to the police in Hong Kong. The most cases were related to deception, fraud, and forgery, while only 64 cases of handling stolen goods were registered that year.

In 2023, around 1,179 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants have been reported in Taiwan. The crime rate in Taiwan increased from 1,139 incidents per 100,000 people in the previous year. Crime in Taiwan Over the last decade, the crime rate in Taiwan dropped significantly from 1,972 reported incidents per 100,000 inhabitants in 2008 to only 1,281 in 2013. In the following years, that downtrend weakened, but figures generally kept on decreasing. Compared to other countries, these numbers are in a medium range. Reported crimes per inhabitants in the United States, for example, were more than double that of Taiwan, although the crime rates in different states in the United States varied considerably. On the contrary, the crime rate in Singapore was only half as high as in Taiwan. However, it should be kept in mind that the definition of crime, the willingness to report crimes, and accounting measures may vary in different countries. Most common crimes in Taiwan Considering different types of crimes committed in Taiwan, excluding offenses against public safety, the most common crimes were drug and theft related. In contrast, the number of cases of murder and manslaughter were relatively low and comparable to other Asia Pacific countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. This is also due to the crime-clearing rate in Taiwan having improved considerably over the years and reached 97.1 percent in 2023.

During the period from 2013 to the end of October 2018, nearly 2,500 offenses concerning tax crimes were related in incoming mutual legal assistance (MLA) requests to Hong Kong, of which over 1,000 offences were about fraud.
Financial crimes including fraud, money laundering and tax crimes accounted for a large share of the MLA requests. As an essential financial hub in the world, Hong Kong is also facing increasing problems of money laundering, terrorist financing and other illegal financial crimes.

In 2023, around 4.5 million incidents of crime were recorded in China. That was about 73,000 cases more than in the previous year, when 4.42 million incidents were reported. Crime in China The total number of crimes in China increased steadily from around 2.2 million incidents in 1999 to nearly 7.2 million in 2015. Since 2015, the number of recorded crimes started to drop, most probably due to new protection and surveillance technologies. In relation to the population size of 1.4 billion people in China, the number of crimes committed is not very high compared to other countries. For example, the United Sates reported more crimes in 2022 than all of China, although the total population of China was considerably greater. The crime rate of Singapore, as an example for a country in the Asia Pacific region, is also quite a bit higher than in China. However, one must bear in mind that the definition of crimes, the willingness to report crimes, and accounting measures may vary in different countries. Most common crimes in China When it comes to different types of crimes, theft and fraud are far the most common crimes committed in China. In 2023, these two categories accounted for around 60 percent of all criminal incidents. Theft was also the crime that decreased most in recent years, while technological options for property protection and surveillance in general have improved significantly. The number of murders was relatively low at 5,443 cases, which was around 0.39 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

The financial loss due to computer crime cases in Hong Kong surged in the recent decade. In 2022, Hong Kong reported a loss of 3.2 billion Hong Kong dollars caused by technology crimes, up from around 3.02 billion Hong Kong dollars in the previous year.

We use bootstrap data envelopment analysis, adjusting for endogeneity, to examine police efficiency in detecting crime in Hong Kong. We address the following: (i) is there a correlation between the detection of crime and triad influence? (ii) does the level of triad influence affect the efficiency in translating inputs (police strength) into outputs (crime detection)? and (iii) how can the allocation of policing resources be adjusted to improve crime detection? We find that nighty-eight percent of Hong Kong police districts in our sample were found to be inefficient in the detection of crime. Variation was found across districts regarding the detection of violent, property and other crimes. Most inefficiencies and potential improvements in the detection of crime were found in the categories violent and other crimes. We demonstrate how less efficient police districts can modify police resourcing decisions to better detect certain crime types while maintaining current levels of resourcing. Finally, we highlight how the method we outline improves efficiency estimation by adjusting for endogeneity and measuring the conditional efficiency of each district (i.e. the efficiency of crime detection taking the instrumental variables (e.g. influence of triads) into consideration). The use of frontier models to assist in evaluating policing performance can lead to improved efficiency, transparency, and accountability in law enforcement, ultimately resulting in better public safety outcomes and publicly funded resource allocation.

In 2017, a total of 33 offenses concerning tax crimes were related to incoming mutual legal assistance (MLA) requests to Hong Kong. Financial crimes including fraud, money laundering and tax crimes accounted for a large share of the MLA requests. As an essential financial hub in the world, Hong Kong is also facing increasing problems of money laundering, terrorist financing and other illegal financial crimes.

With approximately 1.7 million prisoners, China had by far the biggest prison population across the Asia-Pacific region in 2022. In contrast, less than one thousand people were incarcerated in Brunei and Timor-Leste, respectively.

Prison populations and total populations

The varying size of prison populations throughout Asia-Pacific can be attributed to the size of the general populations across the region's countries and territories. With a population of over 1.4 billion, China is the most populous country in the world. Despite the disparity in population size, Bhutan, which had one of the smallest prison populations in APAC in 2022, had a higher serious assault rate than other Asia-Pacific counties.

Crime rates

Apart from the general population size, there are other factors which can be taken into consideration, such as a diversity in justice systems. Therefore, a comparison of crime throughout the region can be challenging. Although China had a higher prison population, it had a lower intentional homicide rate compared to other Asia-Pacific countries and territories. New Zealand, Singapore, and Hong Kong have the lowest corruption index scores in the region, whereas countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia, and North Korea have recorded the highest scores.

Distribution of respondents from each correctional institution.

In 2017, a total of 461 offenses were related to incoming mutual legal assistance (MLA) requests to Hong Kong. Financial crimes including fraud, money laundering and tax crimes accounted for a large share of the MLA requests. As an essential financial hub in the world, Hong Kong is also facing increasing problems of money laundering, terrorist financing and other illegal financial crimes.

In 2017, a total of 14 offenses concerning drugs were related to incoming mutual legal assistance (MLA) requests to Hong Kong. Financial crimes including fraud, money laundering and tax crimes accounted for a large share of the MLA requests. As an essential financial hub in the world, Hong Kong is also facing increasing problems of money laundering, terrorist financing and other illegal financial crimes.

In 2017, a total of 11 offenses concerning robbery or theft were related to incoming mutual legal assistance (MLA) requests to Hong Kong. Financial crimes including fraud, money laundering and tax crimes accounted for a large share of the MLA requests. As an essential financial hub in the world, Hong Kong is also facing increasing problems of money laundering, terrorist financing and other illegal financial crimes.

In 2017, a total of 193 offenses concerning fraud were related to incoming mutual legal assistance (MLA) requests to Hong Kong. Financial crimes including fraud, money laundering and tax crimes accounted for a large share of the MLA requests. As an essential financial hub in the world, Hong Kong is also facing increasing problems of money laundering, terrorist financing and other illegal financial crimes.