In 2024, there were more than 16 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in Guatemala, the second consecutive decrease. The murder rate in Guatemala decreased consistently from 2014 to 2020, when it fell to less 15 victims per 100,000 inhabitants.

Guatemala crime rate per 100K population for 2021 was 19.99, a 5.43% increase from 2020.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Guatemala crime rate per 100K population for 2020 was <strong>18.96</strong>, a <strong>26.07% decline</strong> from 2019.</li>
<li>Guatemala crime rate per 100K population for 2019 was <strong>25.65</strong>, a <strong>11.25% decline</strong> from 2018.</li>
<li>Guatemala crime rate per 100K population for 2018 was <strong>28.90</strong>, a <strong>11.86% decline</strong> from 2017.</li>
</ul>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 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.

Several countries located in Central America and the Caribbean registered some of the highest homicide rates in the Latin American region in 2022. Jamaica ranked first, with around 53.34 homicides committed per 100,000 inhabitants. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines came second, with 40.41 homicides per 100,000 people. The source defines intentional homicide as the unlawful death inflicted upon a person with the intent to cause death or serious injury. When it comes to the total case count, Brazil was the Latin American country with the largest number of homicide victims. Central America and the falling rates El Salvador was commonly named the murder capital of the world for a few years. The inability of previous governments to control organized crime and gangs resulted in the highest homicide rate in the world for a couple of years. Nonetheless, the current administration and the measures applied during the Emergency State had an incredibly positive impact in terms of the security of the Salvadorean citizens. But not only El Salvador has seen a considerable reduction in its murder rate in Central America. Honduras and Guatemala are also two great examples of crime reduction, introducing new policies, institutions, and changes to their judicial system to achieve better results.
The Caribbean still ridden by crime Some islands in the Caribbean are not only known as tax heavens, as some nations in the region are considered the main enablers of tax evasion in the world, but also for being ridden by crime. Haiti is one example of the still rising levels of criminality. As a country with precarious conditions and extreme food insecurity, the homicide rate has been on the rise for almost four consecutive years. Another one is Jamaica, the top of the Latin American ranking, that has also seen an increase in the youth involved in organized crime due to lack of employment and economic conditions.

In 2024, around 21.7 homicides were committed per 100,000 inhabitants in Belize, slightly up from a murder rate of 21.5 registered a year earlier. Neighboring Guatemala has experienced lower homicide rates than Belize in recent years.

This dataset contains data and analysis from the article Do State Department Travel Warnings Reflect Real Danger?

Key findings

• On the whole, there is a significant relationship between the number of American deaths abroad per capita and the number of travel warnings a country receives
• Mexico, Mali, and Israel have been targeted by the most travel warnings in recent years, but Americans are more likely to be killed in Thailand, Pakistan, and the Philippines
• Several countries with relatively high rates of American death have not been issued a single travel warning in ~7 years, including Belize, Guyana, and Guatemala
• Several countries with relatively low rates of American death have been issued a relatively high number of travel warnings in ~7 years, including Israel, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia
• Overall, countries subject to travel warnings do not see notable declines in American visitors in the 6 months after a warning is issued

Data sources

• BTSOriginUS_10_09_to_06_16.csv Air Carrier Statistics Database export, Bureau of Transportation Statistics
• SDamerican_deaths_abroad_10_09_to_06_16.csv U.S. State Department
• SDwarnings_10_09to06_16.csv U.S. State Department via Internet Archive

Charts / data visualizations

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