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.

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.

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, 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 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;

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 2023, the District of Columbia had the highest reported violent crime rate in the United States, with 1,150.9 violent crimes per 100,000 of the population. Maine had the lowest reported violent crime rate, with 102.5 offenses per 100,000 of the population. Life in the District The District of Columbia has seen a fluctuating population over the past few decades. Its population decreased throughout the 1990s, when its crime rate was at its peak, but has been steadily recovering since then. While unemployment in the District has also been falling, it still has had a high poverty rate in recent years. The gentrification of certain areas within Washington, D.C. over the past few years has made the contrast between rich and poor even greater and is also pushing crime out into the Maryland and Virginia suburbs around the District. Law enforcement in the U.S. Crime in the U.S. is trending downwards compared to years past, despite Americans feeling that crime is a problem in their country. In addition, the number of full-time law enforcement officers in the U.S. has increased recently, who, in keeping with the lower rate of crime, have also made fewer arrests than in years past.

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.; ;

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.

The Colombia Self Defense Products market was valued at over USD 6 Million in 2023 due to rising crime rates drive demand for self-defense products.

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.

n 2024, *** women were murdered in Colombia because of their gender. Between 2019 and 2020, the number of femicides increased from *** to ***. This increase of more than ten percent occurred during the social isolation measures taken after the COVID-19 outbreak. In September of 2020 alone, 85 women in Colombia were victims of femicide. Antioquia is usually the department with the highest number of femicides in the South American country.

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.