In 2024, the number of homicides in Brazil reached its lowest level of the entire period under review, with approximately 39,000 occurrences. By comparison, there were more than 60,000 homicides in the country in 2017.

In 2024, Brazil's homicide rate reached **** incidents per 100,000 people. This is the lowest figure recorded in the country since 2012.

In 2022, the state of Bahia reported the largest number of homicides in Brazil. That year, ***** homicides were recorded in this northeastern state. Bahia was followed by the state of Rio de Janeiro, with ***** murders reported. Despite that, the number of homicides in Brazil reached the lowest figure that year since at least 2006, totaling ******. Homicide targets Data shows that homicides affected men disproportionaly more than women in this South American country. Considering the over ****** homicides registered in Brazil in 2022, nearly ** percent had men as victims. Again, it is important to remember the deterioration of data quality, specially in the case of femicides: there was a woman victim of violent death with no clear cause for every woman victim of homicide in Brazil. In that regard, the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Rondônia had the highest femicide rates. At least ***** of every 100,000 women who lived in those territories were murdered on account of their gender in 2023. Not only women, but the number of black and brown people murdered in Brazil had been growing throughout the years up until 2017, revealing that minorities are increasingly becoming the targets of violence. In 2022, nearly ****** people of color were killed in Brazil, over ***** times the number of non-black or non-brown people. Police Violence Police brutality has been gaining attention from the media, especially after George Floyd violent death in 2020. In Brazil, police violence, particularly in poor areas, such as favelas, is an old and well-known problem that affects society as a whole. Figures have shown that the number of civilians killed by police officers in Brazil surpassed ***** in both 2021 and 2022. Coincidentally, Rio de Janeiro and Bahia, the Brazilian states with the highest number of homicides, are also the ones with the highest number of people killed by the police. In Rio, the state with the second-highest figure, people of color were the main victims of deadly police interventions.

Considering the over 46,000 homicides registered in Brazil in 2022, almost 92 percent had men as victims. Meanwhile, approximately 3,810 women were killed in the South American country that year.

Brazil BR: Intentional Homicides: per 100,000 People data was reported at 22.384 Ratio in 2020. This records an increase from the previous number of 20.810 Ratio for 2019. Brazil BR: Intentional Homicides: per 100,000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 26.021 Ratio from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2020, with 31 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 30.593 Ratio in 2017 and a record low of 16.656 Ratio in 1992. Brazil BR: 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 Brazil – Table BR.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;

Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) in Brazil was reported at 19.28 in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Brazil - Intentional homicides (per 100;000 people) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

In 2024, Pernambuco reported the highest homicide rate in the country, at nearly **** occurrences per 100,000 inhabitants. Ceará, in the country's northeastern region, ranked second, with **** homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. Meanwhile, in 2022, Bahia also ranked first in numbers of homicides, with around ***** occurrences reported.

Abstract Violence against LGBT people has always been present in our society. Brazil is the country with the highest number of lethal crimes against LGBT people in the world. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of homicides of LGBT people in Brazil using spatial analysis. The LGBT homicide rate was used to facilitate the visualization of the geographical distribution of homicides. Public thoroughfares and the victim’s home were the most common places of occurrence. The most commonly used methods for killing male homosexuals and transgender people were cold weapons and firearms, respectively; however, homicides frequently involved beatings, suffocation, and other cruelties. The large majority of victims were aged between 20 and 49 years and typically white or brown. The North, Northeast and Central-West regions, precisely the regions with the lowest HDI, presented LGBT homicide rates above the national rate. LGBT homicides are typically hate crimes and constitute a serious public health problem because they affect young people, particularly transgender people. This problem needs to be addressed by the government, starting with the criminalization of homophobia and the subsequent formulation of public policies to reduce hate crimes and promote respect for diversity.

Brazil BR: Intentional Homicides: Male: per 100,000 Male data was reported at 53.128 Ratio in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 52.224 Ratio for 2014. Brazil BR: Intentional Homicides: Male: per 100,000 Male data is updated yearly, averaging 44.855 Ratio from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2015, with 16 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 53.128 Ratio in 2015 and a record low of 40.825 Ratio in 2010. Brazil BR: 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 Brazil – Table BR.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.; ;

Brazil BR: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data was reported at 4.441 Ratio in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 4.461 Ratio for 2014. Brazil BR: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data is updated yearly, averaging 3.884 Ratio from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2015, with 16 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.461 Ratio in 2014 and a record low of 3.649 Ratio in 2007. Brazil BR: 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 Brazil – Table BR.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.; ;

In 2024, Recife was the selected metropolis with the largest number of homicides in Brazil. That year, there were ***** homicides registered in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza, ranking second in the list of selected cities. Salvador was the fourth city in Latin America and the Caribbean with the highest number of homicides.

Historical dataset showing Brazil murder/homicide rate per 100K population by year from 1990 to 2020.

The number of homicides with firearms has been increasing in Brazil throughout the years up until 2017. In that year, approximately 49,090 murders were committed with guns in the South American country, up from around 45,620 homicides recorded a year earlier. However, by 2023, it had decreased to over 32,750.

The objective was to assess the effect of age, period, and birth cohort on the time trend in mortality from homicides in men in the states of the Northeast and Southeast regions of Brazil from 1980 to 2014. This was an ecological time trend study. PCA models were estimated using estimable functions in inference of the parameters. Mortality and population data were obtained from the Brazilian Health Informatics Department. State-by-state mortality rates from homicide were standardized by the direct method, with the world population as the standard, as proposed by the World Health Organization. The Northeast region recorded 317,711 deaths from homicides and the Southeast 544,640 deaths, corresponding, respectively, corresponding to mean standardized rates of 58.68 and 64.68 deaths per 100,000 men. The highest mean standardized mortality rates were observed in the states of Alagoas (157.74 deaths) and Pernambuco (109.58 deaths). All the states showed an increase in mortality up to the third decade of life, with a progressive reduction in the other age brackets. There was an upward trend in all the states of the Northeast and in Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo in the Southeast, while in the other states there was a downward trend. All the states showed an increase in the risk of death in the younger age brackets, except for the state of São Paulo, which showed the inverse profile. The current study’s findings may correlate with the process of discontinuity in the cohort, in which members of wide cohorts found less opportunity for access to employment, income, and education, thus increasing the risk of involvement in crime and death from homicide.

Abstract In this paper we analyzed data from police investigations and trials of intentional homicides shelved in Belo Horizonte between 2003 and 2013 in order to understand the clearance’s determinants. As independent variables, we used the characteristics of victim, crimes’ attributes and police procedures. The results inform that the homicides features and police truth-finding methods (centered on the flagrante delicto and the presence of eyewitnesses) were the variables that explained the clearance likelihood. However, the length of time may affect this result, since police inquiries that are not completed within five year are not likely to be trialed.

The number of black and Pardo Brazilian people murdered in Brazil had been increasing throughout the years up until 2017. In 2023, around 33,350 black and Pardo citizens were killed in the South American country, down from almost 35,500 recorded one year before.

Historical dataset showing Brazil crime rate per 100K population by year from 1990 to 2020.

BackgroundHomicide kills more people than war globally and is associated with income inequality. In Brazil, one of the most unequal countries of the world, the homicide rate is four times higher than the world average. Establishing if the Brazilian conditional cash transfer programme [Bolsa Familia Programme (BFP)], the largest in the world, is associated with a reduction in the rate of homicide is relevant for violence prevention programs. We aimed to assess the effect of BFP coverage on homicide and hospitalization rates from violence.MethodsBFP coverage and rates of homicide (overall and disaggregated by sex and age) and hospitalizations from violence from all 5,507 Brazilian municipalities between 2004 and 2012 were explored using multivariable negative binomial regression models with fixed effect for panel data. Robustness of results was explored using sensitivity analyses such as difference-in-difference models.FindingsHomicide rates and hospitalization from violence decreased as BFP coverage in the target population increased. For each percent increase in the uptake of the BFP, the homicide rate decreased by 0.3% (Rate Ratio:0.997; 95%CI:0.996–0.997) and hospitalizations from violence by 0.4% (RR: 0.996;95%CI:0.995–0.996). Rates of homicide and hospitalizations from violence were also negatively associated with the duration of BFP coverage. When, coverage of the target population was at least 70% for one-year, hospitalizations from violence decreased by 8%; two-years 14%, three-years 20%, and four years 25%.InterpretationOur results support the hypothesis that conditional cash transfer programs might have as an additional benefit the prevention of homicides and hospitalizations from violence. Social protection interventions could contribute to decrease levels of violence in low-and-middle-income-countries through reducing poverty and/or socioeconomic inequalities.

Abstract Background The homicide, besides being a public health problem, also reveals a complex context of social inequality that prevails in capitals and larges cities of Brazil. Objective The objective of this study was to analyze the socio-spatial context of intentional homicide victims in a capital of Brazilian Northeast. Method An ecological and documentary based study with a quantitative approach was carried out in João Pessoa, state of Paraíba, Brazil, in 2015, which considered 369 victims of homicide. Data analysis was carried out in light of descriptive statistics and spatial analysis. Results Victims of malice murder were predominantly male, young adults, non-white, singles, and less than seven years of studies. In addition, there was overlap, to a large extent of the areas where the victims of malice murder resided, with the map of the areas with the worst socioeconomic conditions. Conclusion Homicide has a substantial repercussion on the epidemiological context, in addition to its lethal characteristic. The issues surrounding them, in which important complex social issues appear, are broad and difficult to change in the short term.

Although Brazil remains severely affected by civil violence, the state of São Paulo has made significant inroads into fighting criminality. In the last decade, São Paulo has witnessed a 70% decline in homicide rates, a result that policy-makers attribute to a series of crime-reducing measures implemented by the state government. While recent academic studies seem to confirm this downward trend, no estimation of the total impact of state policies on homicide rates currently exists. The present article fills this gap by employing the synthetic control method to compare these measures against an artificial São Paulo. The results indicate a large drop in homicide rates in actual São Paulo when contrasted with the synthetic counterfactual, with about 20,000 lives saved during the period. The theoretical usefulness of the synthetic control method for public policy analysis, the role of the Primeiro Comando da Capital as a causal mediator, and the practical implications of the security measures taken by the São Paulo state government are also discussed.