In 2023, the State of Mexico was the federal entity with the most crimes per 100,000 inhabitants in Mexico. That year, ****** crimes were registered, above Aguascalientes and Mexico City both with over ****** crimes. Economically, the cost of crime in Mexico surpassed *** billion Mexican pesos.
Crime is one of the most pressing issues faced in Mexico. In 2023, there were nearly ***** victims of theft or robbery on the street or public transportation per 100,00 inhabitants. Fraud is the type of crime with the highest victimization rate in the Latin American country, with ***** victims per 100,000 inhabitants.
In 2023, there were ****** crimes in Mexico City per 100,000 inhabitants. This represented an increase after two of the lowest values reported the previous years. Furthermore, the number of crime victims per 100,000 inhabitants in Mexico City in 2023, made it the third federal entity with the highest victimization rate in Mexico that year.
In January 2024, the most usual type of crime reported in Mexico was domestic violence. In that month, the cases of this type of violence amounted to around 20,814 cases. Regarding property crimes, the highest number of occurrences were vehicle thefts, with nearly 11,887 reported crimes.
Domestic violence Domestic violence stands out as the crime with the highest incidence and, paradoxically, one of the least attended to by the government. Public spending allocated to combat domestic violence has been dismally low, with a value only around 25 percent of the spending on the military. Adding to the concern, this budget has witnessed a consistent decrease each year since 2015. This decline in resources has had severe consequences, leading to a surge in domestic violence crimes, with many resulting in homicides. It's noteworthy that the majority of registered femicides occur within the confines of closed domestic spaces and are often committed by the partners of the victims. This paints a concerning picture of the challenges faced in addressing and preventing domestic violence.
Mexico and the most violent cities in the world
Mexico hosts seven of the most dangerous cities globally, with Celaya ranking as the number one in terms of murder rate, registering a staggering 109.39 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants and the most of these other cities are concentrated in the upper region of the country, highlighting the significant regional variations in safety and security. On the other hand, the capital, Mexico City, has experienced a decreasing trend in crime incidence, with a notable decrease from 2018 to 2022, nonetheless, the crime rate is still high. As a result, crime and insecurity have become the primary concern for nearly half of the country's population, underscoring the pressing need for addressing these issues.
A total of over ************ crimes were committed in Mexico City in 2023. The most common type of crime was theft or robbery on the street or public transport, which accounted for around **** percent of the total number of crimes. In 2023, the crime incidence rate in the country's capital was around ****** crimes per 100,000 inhabitants.
A total of over ******* crimes were reported in Mexico City in 2024. Cuauhtémoc was the municipality with the highest number of reported crimes, with over ****** cases. Followed by Iztapalapa and Gustavo A. Madero, the two most populous municipalities in Mexico City.
On average, 25 people were murdered every 100,000 inhabitants in Mexico in 2022, down from 28 homicide cases per 100,000 people the previous year. Mexico's murder rate increased remarkably between 2015 and 2018. Between January and June of 2023, the homicide rate stood at 12 cases.
Crime and violence in Mexico
Street violence and crime are some of the most pressing problems affecting Mexican society today. A recent survey revealed that, on average, almost 76 percent of the adult population felt unsafe. The perceived level of insecurity in Mexico is more worrisome among women than men. In recent years, violence against women in Mexico has significantly worsened.
Violence against women in Mexico
The number of femicides registered in Mexico has more than doubled between 2015 and 2023. Up to 827 women were murdered in Mexico in 2023 solely on account of their gender. Over the past decade, Mexico adopted this federal criminal typification to address the increasing cases of homicide motivated by gender. Mexico State was the region with the largest number of femicides reported as such in 2023, whereas Colima stood out as the Mexican state with the highest prevalence of femicides, based on 100,000 women.
Colima was the city in Mexico that led the ranking of highest homicide rates in 2023. The city had a murder rate of approximately ****** per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Ciudad Obregón, with a homicide rate of ******. That year, those two cities had the highest homicide rates not only in Mexico, but in Latin America and the Caribbean.
March 2023 ranked as the month with the highest number of reported crimes in Mexico City during the study period, with 22,125 cases. In contrast, February 2025 recorded the lowest figure with less than 16,200 reported crimes.
Drinking alcohol on the street was the most common offense witnessed by people in Mexico in 2024. When asked which type of crime or antisocial activity they had witnessed, over 63 percent of respondents said alcohol consumption. The second most reported kind of crime was drug consumption, whereas 50 percent of the people surveyed said they had seen this type of crime.
The crime prevalence rate per 100,000 inhabitants aged 18 and over in Mexico City was approximately ****** in 2023. Between 2010 and 2023, the rate rose by around ***, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend.
The border city of Tijuana was the Mexican municipality with the highest number of homicides, with 1,844 cases reported in 2023, a decrease when compared to the over 2,000 cases reported last year. Tijuana was followed by Ciudad Juárez, located south of El Paso, Texas, with a total of 1,246 homicides.
Over 25,000 murders were reported in Mexico in 2023. Guanajuato was the federal entity with most intentional homicides that year, amounting to 2,581 cases. Mexico State registered the second highest number of murder cases, with 2,254. When it comes to number of homicides in general - including both murder and manslaughter - Guanajuato ranked second behind Mexico State.
During November 2024, in the Mexican city of Guadalajara the most common crime was robberies with a 33.7 percent of the total documented crimes. Followed by frauds with 10.3 percent and domestic violence with 11.2 percent of the total.
In 2023, 7,514 men and 5,687 women were victims of robbery or theft on the street or public transportation in Mexico per 100,00 inhabitants. In the same year, 4,290 sexual offense cases involving female victims were registered, including harassment, groping, exhibitionism, (attempted) rape and sexual harassment.
The number of organized-crime related homicides in Mexico amounted to 28,328 cases in 2020. This represents an increase of 21 percent in comparison to the previous year. However, 2019 recorded the largest rise of organized crime related violence in the last decade. In 2014, the quantity of murders stood below 8,000.
In July 2024, in the Mexican state of Jalisco the most common crime was robberies with a 30.96 percent of the total reported crimes. Followed by other common law crimes and domestic violence with 12.17 percent and 11.34 percent respectively. Homicides, sexual abuse, and drug dealing also made the cut.
In 2023, Mexico State was the Mexican federal entity with the highest number of homicides, including cases of murder and manslaughter. A total of ***** people were killed in Guanajuato in that year, the second highest figure. Mexico is one of the Latin American countries with the highest murder rates.
The number of people murdered in Mexico amounted to almost 33,300 in 2021, a slightly lower figure to the one registered one year earlier. Mexico ranked as the second Latin American country with the highest number of intentional homicides in 2022, only exceeded by Brazil.
In April 2024, within the Mexican state of Puebla, the most prevalent crime reported was robbery, accounting for 42.27 percent of all documented offenses. It was followed by domestic violence and incidents of physical injuries.
In 2023, the State of Mexico was the federal entity with the most crimes per 100,000 inhabitants in Mexico. That year, ****** crimes were registered, above Aguascalientes and Mexico City both with over ****** crimes. Economically, the cost of crime in Mexico surpassed *** billion Mexican pesos.