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.

Mexico crime rate per 100K population for 2021 was 28.18, a 3.46% decline from 2020.

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<li>Mexico crime rate per 100K population for 2020 was <strong>29.19</strong>, a <strong>0.42% decline</strong> from 2019.</li>
<li>Mexico crime rate per 100K population for 2019 was <strong>29.31</strong>, a <strong>0.92% decline</strong> from 2018.</li>
<li>Mexico crime rate per 100K population for 2018 was <strong>29.58</strong>, a <strong>13.28% increase</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.

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.

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.

Crime is one of the most pressing issues faced in Mexico. In 2023, there were nearly 6,526 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 6,962 victims per 100,000 inhabitants.

In 2023, there were 52,723 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.

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.

This data asset contains the data from the survey carried out in Mexico as part of the Juntos para la Prevención de la Violencia Performance Evaluation conducted by the Center on Conflict and Development at Texas A&M University. We surveyed a population that is representative at the urban national level for ages 16 to 29 (n = 1,539). Our sampling design ensures that our sample is not only representative across common sociodemographic categories (e.g., education and income), but also by level of violence. To do so, we consider three variables that capture levels of violence at the municipal level: homicide rate, reported nonhomicidal crime, and perceived level of violence. Homicide rates are considered more accurate official statistics compared to nonhomicidal crimes, as they are often reported more often by the general population and are typically recorded more accurately because they are definitionally specific and typically go through the health system (UNODC 2019). However, this measure does not capture the full reality of insecurity. For this reason, we also include measures generated from Mexico’s National Survey of Urban Public Security (ENSU) to capture nonhomicidal violence and insecurity at the municipal level. Given that the ENSU data are not representative at the municipal level, using this survey and the 2015 intercensus, we generate municipal estimates using multilevel regression and poststratification (MRP). These measures capture the preponderance of nonhomicidal crime (MRP victimization) and perceived community insecurity (MRP insecurity) at the municipal level. With these estimates and homicide rates, we then order municipalities based on level of insecurity and sample via seriation. Our sampling strategy generated a survey sample that is reflective of the ENSU survey in terms of violence level across all three categories. The dataset includes 102 columns and 1,539 rows (corresponding to each respondent). The survey aims to gather information about respondents’ sociodemographic characteristics, victimization, in/security perceptions, protective factors against delinquency, and exposure to and perceptions about gang participation. It also has embedded an original vignette experiment. Experimental vignette studies in survey research use short descriptions of hypothetical scenarios (vignettes) that are usually presented to respondents within surveys in order to elicit how their judgments about such scenarios affect outcomes of interest, often revealing their perceptions, values, or social norms. In our vignette, we randomize the perpetrator’s socioeconomic status and upbringing, the type of criminal involvement (leader vs. gang member), the severity of the crime, and the type of victim to understand how youth attribute blame.

In Europe, the Baltic countries of Latvia and Lithuania had the highest and third highest homicide rates respectively in 2022. Latvia had the highest rate at over four per 100,000 inhabitants. Meanwhile, the lowest homicide rate was found in Liechtenstein, with zero murders The most dangerous country worldwide Saint Kitts and Nevis is the world's most dangerous country to live in in terms of murder rate. The Caribbean country had a homicide rate of 65 per 100,000 inhabitants. Nine of the 10 countries with the highest murder rates worldwide are located in Latin America and the Caribbean. Whereas Celaya in Mexico was listed as the city with the highest murder rate worldwide, Colima in Mexico was the city with the highest homicide rate in Latin America, so the numbers vary from source to source. Nevertheless, several Mexican cities rank among the deadliest in the world when it comes to intentional homicides. Violent conflicts worldwide Notably, these figures do not include deaths that resulted from war or a violent conflict. While there is a persistent number of conflicts worldwide, resulting casualties are not considered murders. Partially due to this reason, homicide rates in Latin America are higher than those in countries such as Ukraine or the DR Congo. A different definition of murder in these circumstances could change the rate significantly.

In 2023, a total of 42,013 homicides were registered in Mexico, over 800 murder victims less than the death toll reported a year earlier. The number of homicides in Mexico, including intentional homicides and cases of manslaughter, grew between 2015 and 2018, before plateauing around 44,000 victims per year.

Kidnapping in Mexico In Mexico, even with a 20 percent reduction in the kidnapping rate, which amounted to 463 reported cases in 2023, the region continues to witness the distressing reality of five individuals being subjected to violent abduction daily. These heinous acts are chiefly perpetrated in various settings, including workplaces, residences, and public areas. Furthermore, the state with the highest recorded kidnapping incidence is Mexico State, marking a significant disparity in numbers. This dire situation positions the country as the third highest in terms of kidnapping occurrences throughout Latin America.

The increasing cases of human trafficking

Regarded as a grievous form of exploitation encompassing coerced labor or sexual servitude, the prevalence of human trafficking in the nation exhibits a disquieting escalation. This trend coincides with a decline in cases involving children, shifting the focus towards teens and adolescents, particularly females, who are now the primary target demographic. Perpetrators manipulate victims through deceitful practices and fraudulent schemes, effectively entrapping them in a web of organized criminal activities that deprive them of their freedom.

This study analyzes whether femicide in Mexico has increased more severely than other life and bodily integrity crimes (e.g., homicide, culpable homicide, injuries, malicious injuries, abortion, and other crimes that threaten life). To achieve this, the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System database was cleaned and the number of femicides per 100,000 inhabitants was calculated, for the period from January 2016 to March 2022 in all states of Mexico. Through descriptive statistics, non-parametric analysis of means, and hypothesis tests, we demonstrate that the states with the highest number of femicides are the Estado de Mexico (State of Mexico), Ciudad de Mexico (Mexico City), and Veracruz; moreover, the number of femicides exhibits a growing trend while the total number of life and bodily integrity crimes does not. Finally, we forecast the number of femicides for the next five months. To our knowledge, there is no other article that analyzes the growth trend of femicide compared to other crimes. Visualizing and understanding that femicide is on the rise compared with other types of crimes can help the government and legislators generate policies that are consistent with the magnitude of the problem.

A March 2024 survey revealed that the main problem Mexican voters want political candidates to discuss ahead of the presidential election was the fight against insecurity. That does not come as a surprise when the victimization rate was over 22,000 victims per every 100,000 inhabitants in 2022. Moreover, violence and crime have an estimated economic cost of almost five billion Mexican pesos per year. Other main problems voters considered important to decide their votes were the public health system and the fight against corruption.

A May 2024 survey revealed that the main worry Mexicans face are crime and insecurity. 57.1 percent of people surveyed. That does not come as a surprise when the victimization rate was over 22,000 victims per every 100,000 inhabitants in 2022. Moreover, violence and crime have an estimated economic cost of almost five billion Mexican pesos per year.

Some of the most populous countries in Latin America were also the nations that register the highest number of murders. Brazil was the country with the largest number of intentional homicides in the region with 44,367 victims. Mexico came in second, with 33,287 homicide victims, followed by Colombia with over 13,000 victims.

Descriptive statistics of monthly registered Life and bodily integrity crimes in Mexico per state and year.

Test of proportions of the number of femicides related to life and bodily integrity crimes, comparing the time horizon.

The rate of crime prevalence in Chihuahua increased by 1.9 thousand people per 100,000 inhabitants (+9.2 percent) in 2023 in comparison to the previous year. In total, the rate amounted to 22.57 thousand people per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023. For more insights about the rate of crime prevalence consider different countries: In 2023, in comparison to Chihuahua, the rate in Mexico State was higher, while it was lower in Zacatecas.

In 2024, Colima in Mexico ranked as the world's most dangerous city with a homicide rate of 140 per 100,000 inhabitants. Seven of the 10 cities with the highest murder rates worldwide are found in Mexico. The list does not include countries where war and conflict exist. Latin America dominates murder statistics Except for Mandela Bay, all the cities on the list are found in Latin America. Latin America also dominate the list of the world's most dangerous countries. Violence in Latin America is caused in great part by drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and gang wars. Crime in South Africa Mandela Bay in South Africa is the only city outside Latin America among the 10 most dangerous cities worldwide. The country is struggling with extremely high levels of inequality, and is struggling with high levels of crime and power outages, harming the country's economy and driving more people into unemployment and poverty.

The rate of crime prevalence in Baja California saw no significant changes in 2023 in comparison to the previous year 2022 and remained at around 23.8 thousand people per 100,000 inhabitants. But still, the rate reached its lowest value of the observation period in 2023. For more insights about the rate of crime prevalence consider different countries: In 2023, in comparison to Baja California, the rate in Coahuila de Zaragoza was lower, while it was higher in Morelos.

In 2023, the rate of crime prevalence in Oaxaca decreased by 1.9 thousand people per 100,000 inhabitants (-12.49 percent) compared to 2022. The rate thereby reached its lowest value in recent years. Over the observed period, the rate has been subject to fluctuation.For more insights about the rate of crime prevalence consider different countries: In 2023, in comparison to Oaxaca, the rate in Mexico City as well as in Tlaxcala was higher.