In 2021, there were about 123,000 serious violent crimes committed by youths between the ages of 12 and 17 in the United States, an increase from the year before. However, this is still a significant decrease from 1994 levels, when violent crimes committed by youths hit a peak at over 1.05 million serious crimes.

Youth and crime

According to the most recent data, criminal youths in the United States continue to participate in violent crimes each year. In 2022, there were over 1,000 murder offenders between the ages of 13 and 16 in the United States. Studies have also shown that crimes are reported against children at U.S. schools, with students aged between 12 and 14 years found more likely to be victims of violent crime and theft. However, the number of adolescent violent crime victims in the U.S. far surpasses the number of adolescent perpetrators. The number of adolescent victims has also declined significantly since the early 1990s, following the national downward trend of violent crime.

Overall downward trends

There is not only a downward trend in the number of violent crimes committed by youths, but also in the share of crimes involving youths. On a national level, the crime rate has also decreased in almost every state, showing that the country is becoming safer as a whole.

Several countries located in Central America and the Caribbean registered some of the highest homicide rates in the Latin American region in 2023. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ranked first, with around 51.32 homicides committed per 100,000 inhabitants. Jamaica came in second with 49.44 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 is 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, at 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.

The number of homicides of persons aged between 15 and 29 years had been rising in Brazil up until 2017. In that year, nearly ****** people from that age group were murdered in the South American country, up from almost ****** recorded one year before. In 2023, this figure had fallen to over ******.

BackgroundSince 1990, the world’s homicide rate has declined by nearly 20%. While prior research has documented parallel homicide declines across many individual countries, the causes of a shared international homicide decline remain unknown. Drawing on a worldwide process of population ageing, and on research linking age to criminal activity, this study investigates the contribution of global demographic shifts to the international homicide decline.MethodsWe draw from (1) a High Coverage Sample of 126 countries since 1990, and (2) a Long Series Sample of 26 countries since 1960 and utilize fixed-effect regressions to evaluate the impact of age structure on homicide trends. In addition, we use a quantile regression to explore variations in the relationship between age structure and homicide conditional on homicide levels.FindingsResults using the High Coverage Sample suggest no relationship between age structure and homicide. However, results from the Long Series Sample suggest that changes in the relative size of countries’ youth population is a major predictor of homicide trends since 1960. In exploring this divergence, we find that the influence of age structure on homicide becomes less evident as other risk factors for violence gain prominence. Thus, while high homicide countries had the most to gain from falling homicide rates, the safety benefits of an ageing population have been concentrated among the least violent countries.InterpretationWhile the homicide declines of individual countries have often been attributed to domestic policies, the universality of international homicide trends suggests the influence of broader global phenomenon. We find that countries’ homicide trends are strongly associated with changes in the size of their youth populations, particularly where there are few competing criminogenic forces. Based on these results, we propose an explanation for the international homicide decline, while highlighting the importance of demographic patterns in explaining homicide trends.

Number, percentage and rate (per 100,000 population) of homicide victims, by racialized identity group (total, by racialized identity group; racialized identity group; South Asian; Chinese; Black; Filipino; Arab; Latin American; Southeast Asian; West Asian; Korean; Japanese; other racialized identity group; multiple racialized identity; racialized identity, but racialized identity group is unknown; rest of the population; unknown racialized identity group), gender (all genders; male; female; gender unknown) and region (Canada; Atlantic region; Quebec; Ontario; Prairies region; British Columbia; territories), 2019 to 2024.

Since 2014, Eurostat and the UNODC have launched a joint annual data collection on crime and criminal justice statistics, using the UN crime trends questionnaire and complementary Eurostat requests

for specific areas of interest to the European Commission. The data and metadata are collected from National Statistical Institutes or other relevant authorities (mainly police and justice departments) in each EU Member State, EFTA country and EU potential members. On the Eurostat website, data are available for 41 jurisdictions since 2008 until 2018 data and for 38 jurisdictions since 2019 data (EU-27, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Turkey, Kosovo(1)), having drop the data for the United Kingdom separately owing to three separate jurisdictions England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland.

This joint data collection and other data collections carried out by Eurostat allows to gather information on:

• police-recorded offences by type of crime
• police-recorded offences by NUTS3 region
• intentional homicide and sexual violence victims and perpetrators (suspected, prosecuted, convicted) by sex
• intentional homicide victims by age, sex, and relationship to the offender
• intentional homicide victims and offences in largest cities
• offenders by justice legal status (suspected, prosecuted, convicted), age, sex, and citizenship
• persons brought before criminal courts by legal status (convicted persons/acquitted)
• personnel by institution (police, courts, and prisons) by sex
• legal cases in first instance courts by type and stage
• prisoners by age, sex, citizenship, and status of the trial process
• prison capacity and occupancy
• people involved in human trafficking by legal status (victims, suspected and convicted traffickers) and victims of human trafficking by all forms of exploitation and citizenship

Where available, data are broken down by sex, age groups (adults/juveniles), country of citizenship (foreigners or nationals) and other relevant variables. National data are available and for intentional homicide offences, city level data (largest cities) are available for some countries. Regional data at NUTS3 level are also available for some police-recorded offences.

Some historical series are available:

• Number of police-recorded crimes by type (intentional homicide, violence, robbery, home burglary, car thefts, and drug crimes) for the period 1993 – 2007
• Number of police-recorded homicide in cities for the period 1993 – 2007
• Number of police officers for the period 1993 – 2007
• Prison population for the period 1993 – 2007

Total number of police-recorded crimes for the period 1950 – 2000

(1) under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244/99

In 2024, there were approximately 25.4 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in the country, down from a homicide rate of 25.7 a year earlier. The homicide rate in Colombia has been stable since 2014 with the numbers varying between 24 and 26.8 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. Crime and corruption Approximately 31 percent of the population identifies corruption as the main problem of the country, with fraud emerging as the foremost committed corruption and economic felony in Colombia. Followed by instances where residents were either firsthand or indirectly encountered attempts to purchase electoral votes. These experiences stem from discontent with flawed democratic functioning, culminating with the country positioned among the Latin American nations most plagued by corruption. Moreover, Colombia's corruption index was 39, where 0 represents the worst corruption scenario. Notably, those entrusted with safeguarding public welfare—the police, congressional representatives, and presidential personnel—are implicated in these transgressions, thereby fostering a prevailing sense of insecurity among the population. Not an easy way out of drug trafficking Amidst the economic challenges stemming from an uneven distribution of wealth that predominantly favors merely one percent of the population, the youth demographic and individuals residing in rural areas are more inclined towards seeking a convenient route to monetary gains. This trend has the adverse consequence of resulting in land expropriation and engenders a state of insecurity for landowners, particularly concerning crop cultivation. The proliferation of narcotics has escalated significantly, prompting alarm within the government. These authorities have grappled with a persistent inability to curb the proliferation of this phenomenon. Notably, the cultivation and exportation of marijuana and cocaine stand out as the primary illegal undertaking, facilitated through international transport via land, aircraft, and maritime shipments.

Number and percentage of homicide victims, by type of firearm used to commit the homicide (total firearms; handgun; rifle or shotgun; fully automatic firearm; sawed-off rifle or shotgun; firearm-like weapons; other firearms, type unknown), Canada, 1974 to 2018.

The research project is a subproject of the research association “Strengthening of integration potentials within a modern society” (Scientific head: Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Heitmeyer, Bielefeld) which contains 17 subprojects and is supported by the ministry of education and research.
In almost all the economically highly developed countries violent crime increased significantly in the second part of the last century - in contrast to the long term trend of decline of individual (non-governmental) violence since the beginning of modern times. The authors develop an explanatory approach for these facts which is inspired mainly by Norbert Elias´s civilization theory and Emil Durkheim´s theory on society. Detailed time series on the development of different forms of violent crime are presented and set in relation with certain aspects of economic and social structural changes in three countries and also refer to the changes in integration of modern societies. The analysis deals especially with effectivity and legitimacy of the governmental monopoly of violence, the public beneficial security and power system, forms of building social capital, economic and social inequality, precarity of employment, different aspects of increasing economization of society, changes in family structures and usage of mass media and modern communication technologies.

Register of tables in HISTAT:

A: Crime statistics

A.01 Frequency of types of crimes in different countries (1953-2000) A.02 Suspects by crimes of 100.000 inhabitants of Germany, England and Sweden (1955-1998) A.03 Murders, manslaughter and intentional injuries by other persons by sex of 100.000 persons after the statistics of causes of death (1953-2000) A.04 Clearance rate by types of crimes in Germany, England and Sweden (1953-1997) A.05 Prisoners of 100.000 inhabitants of Germany, Great Britain and Sweden (1950-2000)

B: Key indicators for economic development in Germany, Great Britain, Sweden and the USA

B1: Data on the overall economic framework

B1.01 Percent changes in the real GDP per capita in purchasing power parities (1956-1987) B1.02 Percent changes in GDP per capita in prices from 2000 (1955-1998) B1.03 GDP of Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom in purchasing power parities in percent og the US GDP (1950-1992) B1.04 Labor productivity index for different countries, base: USA 1996 = 100 (1950-1999) B1.05 GDP per hour of labor in different countries in EKS-$ from 1999 (1950-2003) B1.06 Foreign trade - exports and imports in percent of the GDP of different countries (1949-2003) B1.07 GDP, wages and Unit-Labor-Cost in different countries (1960-2003)

B2: Unemployment

B2.01 Standardized unemployment rate in different countries with regard to the entire working population (1960-2003) B2.02 Share of long-term unemployed of the total number of unemployed in different countries in percent (1992-2004) B2.03 Youth unemployment in different countries in percent (1970-2004) B2.04 Unemployment rate in percent by sex in different countries (1963-2000)

B3: Employment

B3.01 Employment rate in percent in different countries (1960-2000) B3.02 Share of fixed-term employees and persons in dependent employment in percent in different countries (1983-2004) B3.03 Share of part-time employees by sex compared to the entire working population in different countries (1973-2000) B3.04 Share of un-voluntarily part-time employees by sex in different countries (1983-2003) B3.05 Share of contract workers in different countries in percent of the entire working population (1975-2002) B3.06 Share of self-employed persons in different countries in percent of the entire working population (1970-2004) B3.07 Shift worker rate in different countries in percent (1992-2005) B3.08 Yearly working hours per employee in different countries (1950-2004) B3.09 Employment by sectors in different countries (1950-2003) B3.10 Share of employees in public civil services in percent of the population between 15 and 64 years in different countries (1960-1999) B3.11 Female population, female employees and female workers in percent of the population between 16 and 64 years in different countries (1960-2000) B3.12 Employees, self-employed persons in percent of the entire working population in different countries (1960-2000)

B4: Taxes and duties

B4.01 Taxes and social security contributions in percent of the GDP (1965-2002) B4.02 Social expenditure in percent of the GDP (1965-2002) B4.03 Social expenditure in perc...

Police recorded crime figures by Police Force Area and Community Safety Partnership areas (which equate in the majority of instances, to local authorities).

In the United States, Black people have higher rates of gun homicide than White people across all age groups. As of 2022, gun homicide rates were highest among Black people aged between 15 and 24 years, at ***** gun homicides per 100,000 of the population. In comparison, there were only **** gun homicides per 100,000 of the White population within this age range. However, the risk for gun homicide was greatest among all adolescents and adults between the ages of 15 to 44 in that year. The impact of guns on young Americans In the last few years, firearms have become the leading cause of death for American children and teenagers aged one to 19 years old, accounting for more deaths than car crashes and diseases. School shootings also remain on the rise recently, with the U.S. recording ** times as many school shootings than other high-income nations from 2009 to 2018. Black students in particular experience a disproportionately high number of school shootings relative to their population, and K-12 teachers at schools made up mostly of students of color are more likely to report feeling afraid that they or their students would be a victim of attack or harm. The right to bear arms Despite increasingly high rates of gun-related violence, gun ownership remains a significant part of American culture, largely due to the fact that the right to bear arms is written into the U.S. Constitution. Although firearms are the most common murder weapon used in the U.S., accounting for approximately ****** homicides in 2022, almost **** of American households have at least one firearm in their possession. Consequently, it is evident that firearms remain easily accessible nationwide, even though gun laws may vary from state to state. However, the topic of gun control still causes political controversy, as the majority of Republicans agree that it is more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns, while Democrats are more inclined to believe that it is more important to limit gun ownership.

Goal 16Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levelsTarget 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhereIndicator 16.1.1: Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population, by sex and ageVC_IHR_PSRC: Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population, by sex (victims per 100,000 population)VC_IHR_PSRCN: Number of victims of intentional homicide, by sex (number)Indicator 16.1.2: Conflict-related deaths per 100,000 population, by sex, age and causeVC_DTH_TOCV: Number of conflict-related deaths (civilians) per 100,000 population (Per 100,000 population)VC_DTH_TOCVN: Number of conflict-related deaths (civilians), by sex, age and cause of death (Number)VC_DTH_TOCVR: Conflict-related death rate (civilians), by sex, age and cause of death (%)Indicator 16.1.3: Proportion of population subjected to (a) physical violence, (b) psychological violence and (c) sexual violence in the previous 12 monthsVC_VOV_PHYL: Proportion of population subjected to physical violence in the previous 12 months, by sex (%)VC_VOV_ROBB: Proportion of population subjected to robbery in the previous 12 months, by sex (%)VC_VOV_SEXL: Proportion of population subjected to sexual violence in the previous 12 months, by sex (%)Indicator 16.1.4: Proportion of population that feel safe walking alone around the area they liveVC_SNS_WALN: Proportion of population that feel safe walking alone around the area they live (%)Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of childrenIndicator 16.2.1: Proportion of children aged 1–17 years who experienced any physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the past monthVC_VAW_PHYPYV: Proportion of children aged 1-14 years who experienced physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in last month (% of children aged 1-14 years)Indicator 16.2.2: Number of victims of human trafficking per 100,000 population, by sex, age and form of exploitationVC_HTF_DETVFL: Detected victims of human trafficking for forced labour, servitude and slavery, by age and sex (number)VC_HTF_DETVOP: Detected victims of human trafficking for other purposes, by age and sex (number)VC_HTF_DETVOG: Detected victims of human trafficking for removal of organ, by age and sex (number)VC_HTF_DETVSX: Detected victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitaton, by age and sex (number)VC_HTF_DETV: Detected victims of human trafficking, by age and sex (number)Indicator 16.2.3: Proportion of young women and men aged 18–29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18VC_VAW_SXVLN: Proportion of population aged 18-29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18, by sex (% of population aged 18-29)Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for allIndicator 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanismsVC_PRR_PHYV: Police reporting rate for physical assault, by sex (%)VC_PRR_SEXV: Police reporting rate for sexual assault, by sex (%)VC_PRR_ROBB: Police reporting rate for robbery, by sex (%)Indicator 16.3.2: Unsentenced detainees as a proportion of overall prison populationVC_PRS_UNSNT: Unsentenced detainees as a proportion of overall prison population (%)Indicator 16.3.3: Proportion of the population who have experienced a dispute in the past two years and who accessed a formal or informal dispute resolution mechanism, by type of mechanismTarget 16.4: By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crimeIndicator 16.4.1: Total value of inward and outward illicit financial flows (in current United States dollars)Indicator 16.4.2: Proportion of seized, found or surrendered arms whose illicit origin or context has been traced or established by a competent authority in line with international instrumentsVC_ARM_SZTRACE: Proportion of seized, found or surrendered arms whose illicit origin or context has been traced or established by a competent authority in line with international instrumentsTarget 16.5: Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their formsIndicator 16.5.1: Proportion of persons who had at least one contact with a public official and who paid a bribe to a public official, or were asked for a bribe by those public officials, during the previous 12 monthsIU_COR_BRIB: Prevalence rate of bribery, by sex (%)Indicator 16.5.2: Proportion of businesses that had at least one contact with a public official and that paid a bribe to a public official, or were asked for a bribe by those public officials during the previous 12 monthsIC_FRM_BRIB: Bribery incidence (% of firms experiencing at least one bribe payment request)Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levelsIndicator 16.6.1: Primary government expenditures as a proportion of original approved budget, by sector (or by budget codes or similar)GF_XPD_GBPC: Primary government expenditures as a proportion of original approved budget (%)Indicator 16.6.2: Proportion of population satisfied with their last experience of public servicesTarget 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levelsIndicator 16.7.1: Proportions of positions in national and local institutions, including (a) the legislatures; (b) the public service; and (c) the judiciary, compared to national distributions, by sex, age, persons with disabilities and population groupsSG_DMK_PARLCC_JC: Number of chairs of permanent committees, by age sex and focus of the committee, Joint CommitteesSG_DMK_PARLMP_LC: Ratio for female members of parliaments (Ratio of the proportion of women in parliament in the proportion of women in the national population with the age of eligibility as a lower bound boundary), Lower Chamber or UnicameralSG_DMK_PARLSP_LC: Number of speakers in parliament, by age and sex , Lower Chamber or UnicameralSG_DMK_PARLCC_LC: Number of chairs of permanent committees, by age sex and focus of the committee, Lower Chamber or UnicameralSG_DMK_PARLMP_UC: Ratio for female members of parliaments (Ratio of the proportion of women in parliament in the proportion of women in the national population with the age of eligibility as a lower bound boundary), Upper ChamberSG_DMK_PARLSP_UC: Number of speakers in parliament, by age and sex, Upper ChamberSG_DMK_PARLCC_UC: Number of chairs of permanent committees, by age sex and focus of the committee, Upper ChamberSG_DMK_PARLYR_LC: Ratio of young members in parliament (Ratio of the proportion of young members in parliament (age 45 or below) in the proportion of the national population (age 45 or below) with the age of eligibility as a lower bound boundary), Lower Chamber or UnicameralSG_DMK_PARLYP_LC: Proportion of youth in parliament (age 45 or below), Lower Chamber or Unicameral (%)SG_DMK_PARLYN_LC: Number of youth in parliament (age 45 or below), Lower Chamber or Unicameral (Number)SG_DMK_PARLYR_UC: Ratio of young members in parliament (Ratio of the proportion of young members in parliament (age 45 or below) in the proportion of the national population (age 45 or below) with the age of eligibility as a lower bound boundary), Upper ChamberSG_DMK_PARLYP_UC: Proportion of youth in parliament (age 45 or below), Upper Chamber (%)SG_DMK_PARLYN_UC: Number of youth in parliament (age 45 or below), Upper Chamber (Number)Indicator 16.7.2: Proportion of population who believe decision-making is inclusive and responsive, by sex, age, disability and population groupTarget 16.8: Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governanceIndicator 16.8.1: Proportion of members and voting rights of developing countries in international organizationsSG_INT_MBRDEV: Proportion of members of developing countries in international organizations, by organization (%)SG_INT_VRTDEV: Proportion of voting rights of developing countries in international organizations, by organization (%)Target 16.9: By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registrationIndicator 16.9.1: Proportion of children under 5 years of age whose births have been registered with a civil authority, by ageSG_REG_BRTH: Proportion of children under 5 years of age whose births have been registered with a civil authority (% of children under 5 years of age)Target 16.10: Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreementsIndicator 16.10.1: Number of verified cases of killing, kidnapping, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention and torture of journalists, associated media personnel, trade unionists and human rights advocates in the previous 12 monthsVC_VAW_MTUHRA: Number of cases of killings of human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionistsVC_VOC_ENFDIS: Number of cases of enforced disappearance of human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists (Number)Indicator 16.10.2: Number of countries that adopt and implement constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to informationSG_INF_ACCSS: Countries that adopt and implement constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to informationTarget 16.a: Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crimeIndicator 16.a.1: Existence of independent national human rights institutions in compliance with the Paris PrinciplesSG_NHR_IMPL: Proportion of

Crude death rate from suicide and intentional self-harm per 100 000 people, by age group. Suicide registration methods vary between countries and over time. Figures do not include deaths from events of undetermined intent (part of which should be considered as suicides) and attempted suicides which did not result in death.

The average for 2017 based on 65 countries was 1.8 kidnappings per 100,000 people. The highest value was in Belgium: 10.3 kidnappings per 100,000 people and the lowest value was in Bermuda: 0 kidnappings per 100,000 people. The indicator is available from 2003 to 2017. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

THIS DATASET WAS LAST UPDATED AT 7:11 AM EASTERN ON DEC. 1

OVERVIEW

2019 had the most mass killings since at least the 1970s, according to the Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University Mass Killings Database.

In all, there were 45 mass killings, defined as when four or more people are killed excluding the perpetrator. Of those, 33 were mass shootings . This summer was especially violent, with three high-profile public mass shootings occurring in the span of just four weeks, leaving 38 killed and 66 injured.

A total of 229 people died in mass killings in 2019.

The AP's analysis found that more than 50% of the incidents were family annihilations, which is similar to prior years. Although they are far less common, the 9 public mass shootings during the year were the most deadly type of mass murder, resulting in 73 people's deaths, not including the assailants.

One-third of the offenders died at the scene of the killing or soon after, half from suicides.

About this Dataset

The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University Mass Killings database tracks all U.S. homicides since 2006 involving four or more people killed (not including the offender) over a short period of time (24 hours) regardless of weapon, location, victim-offender relationship or motive. The database includes information on these and other characteristics concerning the incidents, offenders, and victims.

The AP/USA TODAY/Northeastern database represents the most complete tracking of mass murders by the above definition currently available. Other efforts, such as the Gun Violence Archive or Everytown for Gun Safety may include events that do not meet our criteria, but a review of these sites and others indicates that this database contains every event that matches the definition, including some not tracked by other organizations.

This data will be updated periodically and can be used as an ongoing resource to help cover these events.

Using this Dataset

To get basic counts of incidents of mass killings and mass shootings by year nationwide, use these queries:

Mass killings by year

Mass shootings by year

To get these counts just for your state:

Filter killings by state

Definition of "mass murder"

Mass murder is defined as the intentional killing of four or more victims by any means within a 24-hour period, excluding the deaths of unborn children and the offender(s). The standard of four or more dead was initially set by the FBI.

This definition does not exclude cases based on method (e.g., shootings only), type or motivation (e.g., public only), victim-offender relationship (e.g., strangers only), or number of locations (e.g., one). The time frame of 24 hours was chosen to eliminate conflation with spree killers, who kill multiple victims in quick succession in different locations or incidents, and to satisfy the traditional requirement of occurring in a “single incident.”

Offenders who commit mass murder during a spree (before or after committing additional homicides) are included in the database, and all victims within seven days of the mass murder are included in the victim count. Negligent homicides related to driving under the influence or accidental fires are excluded due to the lack of offender intent. Only incidents occurring within the 50 states and Washington D.C. are considered.

Methodology

Project researchers first identified potential incidents using the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR). Homicide incidents in the SHR were flagged as potential mass murder cases if four or more victims were reported on the same record, and the type of death was murder or non-negligent manslaughter.

Cases were subsequently verified utilizing media accounts, court documents, academic journal articles, books, and local law enforcement records obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Each data point was corroborated by multiple sources, which were compiled into a single document to assess the quality of information.

In case(s) of contradiction among sources, official law enforcement or court records were used, when available, followed by the most recent media or academic source.

Case information was subsequently compared with every other known mass murder database to ensure reliability and validity. Incidents listed in the SHR that could not be independently verified were excluded from the database.

Project researchers also conducted extensive searches for incidents not reported in the SHR during the time period, utilizing internet search engines, Lexis-Nexis, and Newspapers.com. Search terms include: [number] dead, [number] killed, [number] slain, [number] murdered, [number] homicide, mass murder, mass shooting, massacre, rampage, family killing, familicide, and arson murder. Offender, victim, and location names were also directly searched when available.

This project started at USA TODAY in 2012.

Contacts

Contact AP Data Editor Justin Myers with questions, suggestions or comments about this dataset at jmyers@ap.org. The Northeastern University researcher working with AP and USA TODAY is Professor James Alan Fox, who can be reached at j.fox@northeastern.edu or 617-416-4400.

The United Nations International Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch began the Surveys of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems (formerly known as the World Crime Surveys) in 1978. The goal of the data collection effort was to conduct a more focused inquiry into the incidence of crime worldwide. To date, there have been five quinquennial surveys, covering the years 1970-1975, 1975-1980, 1980-1986, 1986-1990, and 1990-1994, respectively. Starting with the 1980 data, the waves overlap by one year to allow for reliability and validity checks of the data. For this data collection, the original United Nations data were restructured into a standard contemporary file structure, with each file consisting of all data for one year. Naming conventions were standardized, and each country and each variable was given a unique identifying number. Crime variables include counts of recorded crime for homicide, assault, rape, robbery, theft, burglary, fraud, embezzlement, drug trafficking, drug possession, bribery, and corruption. There are also counts of suspects, persons prosecuted, persons convicted, and prison admissions by crime, gender, and adult or juvenile status. Other variables include the population of the country and largest city, budgets and salaries for police, courts, and prisons, and types of sanctions, including imprisonment, corporal punishment, deprivation of liberty, control of freedom, warning, fine, and community sentence. The countries participating in the survey and the variables available vary by year.

The average for 2022 based on 53 countries was 8.33 deaths per 1000 people. The highest value was in the Central African Republic: 55.13 deaths per 1000 people and the lowest value was in Algeria: 4.6 deaths per 1000 people. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

3,013 murderers in the United States in 2023 were individuals between the ages of 20 and 24. In the same year, there were seven murderer offenders aged between one and four years. Murder rate in the United States Despite some feeling that violent crime in the United States is on the rise, perhaps due to sensationalized media coverage, the murder and nonnegligent manslaughter rate has declined steeply since 1990. The murder rate has risen some since 2014, but it is nowhere near its peak in 1991. Murder victims in the U.S. The vast majority of murders in the U.S. were committed with firearms, including handguns, rifles, shotguns, and other unidentified guns or firearms. This is generally attributed to the high rate of gun ownership in the United States, which makes guns more accessible than in other countries.

Jamaica is one of the countries with the highest homicide rates in Latin America and the Caribbean. Indeed, the number of people murdered in Jamaica amounted to 1,141 in 2024, slightly down from 1,393 victims a year earlier.