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.

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.

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.

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

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.

The Central American nation with the highest prison occupancy rate, as of April 2025, was Guatemala, when the level stood at almost 300 percent of its official capacity. Nicaragua followed with 177.6 percent of occupancy level. The lowest prison occupancy rate was found in Belize, which, with 67 percent, was the only country whose prison system was not overcrowded. That year, El Salvador had the highest prison population rate in Central America.

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.

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.

Nicaragua NI: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data was reported at 2.140 Ratio in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2.155 Ratio for 2013. Nicaragua NI: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data is updated yearly, averaging 2.150 Ratio from Dec 2008 (Median) to 2015, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.287 Ratio in 2009 and a record low of 1.874 Ratio in 2011. Nicaragua NI: 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 Nicaragua – Table NI.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.; ;

Nicaragua NI: Intentional Homicides: Male: per 100,000 Male data was reported at 15.277 Ratio in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 18.055 Ratio for 2013. Nicaragua NI: Intentional Homicides: Male: per 100,000 Male data is updated yearly, averaging 23.863 Ratio from Dec 2008 (Median) to 2015, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 25.338 Ratio in 2009 and a record low of 15.277 Ratio in 2015. Nicaragua NI: 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 Nicaragua – Table NI.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.; ;

Nicaragua: Thefts 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 258 thefts per 100,000 people avec un minimum de 182 thefts per 100,000 people en 2010 et un maximum de 321 thefts per 100,000 people en 2006.

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.

Brazil led the list with a total of 4,390 kidnapping cases in the latest available data. Ecuador followed with 1,246 occurrences in 2022. On the flip side, there was only three reported kidnapping in the Antigua and Barbuda during that year. Homicides, another recurrent problem in Latin America Among the region's prevalent offenses, intentional homicide emerged as one of the main concerns in the region. Nonetheless, the rates vary among the different countries. Brazil leads the ranking of the most number of homicides in Latin America, as well as being the most populated country by far. On the other hand, Jamaica holds the top position according to the homicide rate, reporting nearly 61 instances per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023. Nevertheless, even with these varying homicide rates across countries, four out of five of the world's most perilous urban centers are situated in Mexico, with Colima leading the pack at a 2024 homicide rate of 140 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Cost of violence in Central America Following criminal acts, the responsibility for addressing the consequences falls squarely on the government, causing government expenditure to surge, called the cost of violence. Notably, Panama is more severely impacted in Central America, with the economic cost of violence per inhabitant accounting for over 3,771 U.S. dollars in 2022. In terms of a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), El Salvador takes the first place with a value of 15 percent of their GDP.

In a survey carried out in 2023, around 15.81 percent of respondents in Ecuador said that they had been asked or had to pay a bribe in interactions with police officers. Meanwhile, almost ten percent of respondents said they experienced the same with public officials. In other Latin American countries, such as Mexico or Nicaragua, respondents had a higher rate of being bribed by public officials.