In 2024, there were approximately six homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in Nicaragua. Compared to the previous year, the murder rate decreased by less than one point. Still, Nicaragua's homicide rate ranked low among selected countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

A total of 407 cases of murder or homicide were brought to the Nicaraguan police in 2023. Before 2018, the number of homicide and murder cases reported to the authorities had been consistently decreasing since 2010. Nicaragua is among the Latin American countries with the lowest homicide rates.

Historical dataset showing Nicaragua crime rate per 100K population by year from 1990 to 2021.

Robberies involving the use of force were the most common type of crime in Nicaragua in 2022. Around 5,200 such crimes were reported to the Nicaraguan police in that year. The second most frequent crime was theft, under which around 3,500 police reports were filed.

In 2022, around 50,600 crimes out of 146,000 in Nicaragua were registered in the department of Managua. Which represented the highest figure among all departments, followed from far by León and Matagalpa with 13,800 and 9,700 registered felonies respectively.

Robberies involving the use of force were the most common type of property crime in Nicaragua in 2021. Around *** thousand such crimes were reported to the Nicaraguan police in that year. The second most frequent crime against property was theft, under which around **** thousand police reports were filed.

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.

In 2023, the most frequent crime was extortion, with a rate of 102.8 cases for every 100,000 habitants in Guatemala, a 21.2 percent increased when compared to the year prior. Followed by theft and robbery with 55.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

In 2024, the topmost crime in Panama was domestic violence, with over 21 thousand registered cases, followed by thefts, with almost 17 thousand cases.

During 2024, Costa Rica recorded almost 45,000 crimes and around 39 percent of them were registered in the province of San Jose. In 2024, Costa Rica registered under 832 homicide victims.

From January to November 2024, in Belize, the district with the highest number of crimes was the homonymous Belize with around 317 cases. Followed from far by Cayo and Stann Creek with 174 and 150 felonies respectively.

The corruption perception index score in Nicaragua totaled 14 points in 2024. Compared to the previous year, this is a decrease of three points. This also represents the lowest score the country has reported since 2012. Further, Nicaragua continues to score low on the Index which means it ranks among the countries with the worst perceived corruption in Latin America. This index is a composite indicator that includes data on the perception of corruption in areas such as bribery of public officials, kickbacks in public procurement, embezzlement of state funds, and effectiveness of governments' anti-corruption efforts. The worst possible score in perception of corruption is 0, whereas a score of 100 indicates that no corruption is perceived in the respective country.

From January to November 2024, in Belize, the most frequent crimes registered were burglary with 43 cases, robberies with 125 and Theft accounting with 105 cases.

During the timeframe displayed there has been an overall decrease in the number of femicides in Honduras. With its highest peak in 2014 with 493 victims. In contrast, the lowest digit registered was on 2022 with 306 cases.

During the timeframe displayed, the highest number of femicide registered in Costa Rica was in 2011 with 42 murders. In contrast, the lowest number was in 2019 with 17 cases.

From January to December 2023, Honduras registered a total of 3,035 homicides, from which the most frequent cause was due to personal issues and quarrel with a total of 1,404 cases. Other 1,087 homicides remained still in investigation of causes.

In 2020, the percentage of the population aged over 18 who is very afraid of being a victim of crime in Nicaragua was estimated at approximately 23 percent. Between 2007 and 2020, the figure dropped by around 11 percentage points, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

Brazil led the list with a total of 4,390 kidnapping cases in the latest available data. Ecuador followed with 1,246 occurrences in 2022. On the flip side, there was only three reported kidnapping in the Antigua and Barbuda during that year. Homicides, another recurrent problem in Latin America Among the region's prevalent offenses, intentional homicide emerged as one of the main concerns in the region. Nonetheless, the rates vary among the different countries. Brazil leads the ranking of the most number of homicides in Latin America, as well as being the most populated country by far. On the other hand, Jamaica holds the top position according to the homicide rate, reporting nearly 61 instances per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023. Nevertheless, even with these varying homicide rates across countries, four out of five of the world's most perilous urban centers are situated in Mexico, with Colima leading the pack at a 2024 homicide rate of 140 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Cost of violence in Central America Following criminal acts, the responsibility for addressing the consequences falls squarely on the government, causing government expenditure to surge, called the cost of violence. Notably, Panama is more severely impacted in Central America, with the economic cost of violence per inhabitant accounting for over 3,771 U.S. dollars in 2022. In terms of a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), El Salvador takes the first place with a value of 15 percent of their GDP.