In 2024, there were approximately 39 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in the country, a slight decrease compared to the previous year. However, the 2023 homicide rate was the highest the South American country has seen since at least 2014.

During 2023, robberies were the most common type of crime registered in Ecuador, with over 36,700 cases. Followed by motorcycle theft, with over 20,000 reports.

During 2022, among the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, Ecuador ranked in the upper table on the number of homicides. Guayas region, with more than four million inhabitants, ranked with the highest number of recorded homicides in 2024. Followed by Manabí y Los Ríos.

Ecuador murder/homicide rate per 100K population for 2021 was 14.02, a 79.79% increase from 2020.

• Ecuador murder/homicide rate per 100K population for 2020 was 7.80, a 13.98% increase from 2019.
• Ecuador murder/homicide rate per 100K population for 2019 was 6.84, a 17.16% increase from 2018.
• Ecuador murder/homicide rate per 100K population for 2018 was 5.84, a 0.56% 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.

During 2022, among the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, Ecuador ranked in the upper table on the number of homicides. In 2024, over 7,000 homicides were recorded, and almost 92 percent had common crime as the quoted reason of the homicide.

Ecuador EC: Intentional Homicides: per 100,000 People data was reported at 8.200 Ratio in 2014. This records a decrease from the previous number of 11.000 Ratio for 2013. Ecuador EC: Intentional Homicides: per 100,000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 15.400 Ratio from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2014, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 18.000 Ratio in 2008 and a record low of 8.200 Ratio in 2014. Ecuador EC: 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 Ecuador – Table EC.World Bank: 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;

Statistics of crimes committed in Santa Cruz - Puerto Ayora circuit, period 2018-2020

Subcircuit where signs of assault have been found in Quito, period 2018 - 2021

During 2022, among the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, Ecuador ranked in the upper table on the number of homicides. In2024, two thirds of all homicides occurred on public roads.

News registry for the crime of corruption

Among the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, Ecuador ranked in the upper table on the number of homicides. The downward trend in the number of people murdered in Ecuador was reversed after 2016, and a total of 4,859 homicide victims were reported in 2022, the highest figure of the last decade.

Places where crimes have been carried out within Quito, period 2018-2021

Ecuador EC: Intentional Homicides: Male: per 100,000 Male data was reported at 9.511 Ratio in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 10.854 Ratio for 2015. Ecuador EC: Intentional Homicides: Male: per 100,000 Male data is updated yearly, averaging 26.667 Ratio from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2016, with 17 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 33.107 Ratio in 2008 and a record low of 9.511 Ratio in 2016. Ecuador EC: 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 Ecuador – Table EC.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.; ;

Subcircuit where signs of robbery have been found in Quito, period 2015 - 2021

In 2024, Guayas was the Ecuadorian province with the highest number of femicides, with a total of 76 women murdered on account of their gender. It was followed Manabí, where 39 femicides were documented, and Los Ríos with 24 cases. That year, a total of 274 femicides were reported in Ecuador, which means that these three states accounted for more than half of all femicides.

Parishes, Census sectors, SubCircuit where signs of microtraffic have been found in Quito, period 2018 - 2021

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.

Ecuador EC: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data was reported at 2.197 Ratio in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2.217 Ratio for 2015. Ecuador EC: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data is updated yearly, averaging 2.952 Ratio from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2016, with 17 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.763 Ratio in 2009 and a record low of 2.197 Ratio in 2016. Ecuador EC: 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 Ecuador – Table EC.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.; ;

During 2022, among the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, Ecuador ranked in the upper table on the number of homicides. In 2024, over 7,000 homicides were recorded and around 85 percent of cases used a firearm as the murder weapon.

Abstract

This research was conducted in Ecuador between June and October 2010 as part of the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Enterprise Survey 2010, an initiative of the World Bank. Data from 366 establishments was analyzed.

The objective of the study is to obtain feedback from enterprises in client countries on the state of the private sector as well as to help in building a panel of enterprise data that will make it possible to track changes in the business environment over time, thus allowing, for example, impact assessments of reforms. Through face-to-face interviews with firms in the manufacturing and services sectors, the survey assesses the constraints to private sector growth and creates statistically significant business environment indicators that are comparable across countries.

The standard Enterprise Survey topics include firm characteristics, gender participation, access to finance, annual sales, costs of inputs/labor, workforce composition, bribery, licensing, infrastructure, trade, crime, competition, capacity utilization, land and permits, taxation, informality, business-government relations, innovation and technology, and performance measures. Over 90% of the questions objectively ascertain characteristics of a country’s business environment. The remaining questions assess the survey respondents’ opinions on what are the obstacles to firm growth and performance.

Geographic coverage

National

Analysis unit

The primary sampling unit of the study is the establishment. An establishment is a physical location where business is carried out and where industrial operations take place or services are provided. A firm may be composed of one or more establishments. For example, a brewery may have several bottling plants and several establishments for distribution. For the purposes of this survey an establishment must make its own financial decisions and have its own financial statements separate from those of the firm. An establishment must also have its own management and control over its payroll.

Universe

The whole population, or the universe, covered in the Enterprise Surveys is the non-agricultural economy. It comprises: all manufacturing sectors according to the ISIC Revision 3.1 group classification (group D), construction sector (group F), services sector (groups G and H), and transport, storage, and communications sector (group I). Note that this population definition excludes the following sectors: financial intermediation (group J), real estate and renting activities (group K, except sub-sector 72, IT, which was added to the population under study), and all public or utilities sectors.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The study was conducted using stratified random sampling. Three levels of stratification were used in the sample: firm sector, firm size, and geographic region.

Industry stratification was designed in the way that follows: the universe was stratified into 1 manufacturing industry, 1 service industry -retail -, and 1 residual sector. The manufacturing industry, service industry, and residual sectors had a target each of 120 interviews.

Size stratification was defined following the standardized definition for the Enterprise Surveys: small (5 to 19 employees), medium (20 to 99 employees), and large (more than 99 employees). For stratification purposes, the number of employees was defined on the basis of reported permanent full-time workers. This seems to be an appropriate definition of the labor force since seasonal/casual/part-time employment is not a common practice, except in the sectors of construction and agriculture.

Regional stratification was defined in three locations (city and the surrounding business area): Pichincha, Guayas, and Azuay.

For Ecuador, two sample frames were used. The first was supplied by the World Bank and consists of enterprises interviewed in Ecuador 2006. The World Bank required that attempts should be made to re-interview establishments responding to the Ecuador 2006 survey where they were within the selected geographical locations and met eligibility criteria. That sample is referred to as the Panel. The second sample frame from the Official data base obtained from the Superintendence of Companies. A copy of that frames was sent to the TNS statistical team in London to select the establishments for interview.

The quality of the frame was assessed at the onset of the project through visits to a random subset of firms and local contractor knowledge. The sample frame was not immune from the typical problems found in establishment surveys: positive rates of non-eligibility, repetition, non-existent units, etc. In addition, the sample frame contains no telephone/fax numbers so the local contractor had to screen the contacts by visiting them. Due to response rate and ineligibility issues, additional sample had to be extracted by the World Bank in order to obtain enough eligible contacts and meet the sample targets.

Given the impact that non-eligible units included in the sample universe may have on the results, adjustments may be needed when computing the appropriate weights for individual observations. The percentage of confirmed non-eligible units as a proportion of the total number of sampled establishments contacted for the survey was 6.20% (59 out of 951 establishments).

Complete information regarding the sampling methodology, sample frame, weights, response rates, and implementation can be found in "Description of Ecuador Implementation" in "Technical documents" folder.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The current survey instruments are available: - Core Questionnaire + Manufacturing Module - Core Questionnaire + Retail Module - Core Questionnaire - Screener Questionnaire

The "Core Questionnaire" is the heart of the Enterprise Survey and contains the survey questions asked of all firms across the world. There are also two other survey instruments - the "Core Questionnaire + Manufacturing Module" and the "Core Questionnaire + Retail Module." The survey is fielded via three instruments in order to not ask questions that are irrelevant to specific types of firms, e.g. a question that relates to production and nonproduction workers should not be asked of a retail firm. In addition to questions that are asked across countries, all surveys are customized and contain country-specific questions. An example of customization would be including tourism-related questions that are asked in certain countries when tourism is an existing or potential sector of economic growth.

The standard Enterprise Survey topics include firm characteristics, gender participation, access to finance, annual sales, costs of inputs/labor, workforce composition, bribery, licensing, infrastructure, trade, crime, competition, capacity utilization, land and permits, taxation, informality, business-government relations, innovation and technology, and performance measures. The questionnaire also assesses the survey respondents' opinions on what are the obstacles to firm growth and performance.

Cleaning operations

Data entry and quality controls are implemented by the contractor and data is delivered to the World Bank in batches (typically 10%, 50% and 100%). These data deliveries are checked for logical consistency, out of range values, skip patterns, and duplicate entries. Problems are flagged by the World Bank and corrected by the implementing contractor through data checks, callbacks, and revisiting establishments.

Response rate

The number of realized interviews per contacted establishment was 0.38. This number is the result of two factors: explicit refusals to participate in the survey, as reflected by the rate of rejection (which includes rejections of the screener and the main survey) and the quality of the sample frame, as represented by the presence of ineligible units. The number of rejections per contact was 0.39.

Complete information regarding the sampling methodology, sample frame, weights, response rates, and implementation can be found in "Description of Ecuador Implementation" in "Technical documents" folder.