The countries with the highest murder rates may surprise you. It’s a known fact that the modern world is everything but a safe place. But it’s shocking to see just how unsafe the world can be. On today’s list we are going to take a look around the world using the international homicide rate statistics. Based on the number of homicides per 100,000 inhabitants per year, these statistics will allow us to see which countries have the highest murder rates. Do you want to know which countries have deal with the most murders? Then we present to you the 25 countries with the highest murder rates in the world.
1.Panama, 17.2
Located on the isthmus connecting North and South America, Panama is just one of many Central American countries listed in the post. Generally, the number of murders committed in the country has been slowly decreasing but very high criminality that often involves gun violence is one the reasons why Panama, unfortunately, still belongs in this list.
2.Botswana, 18.4
A landlocked country in Southern Africa, Botswana has the opposite tendency to Panama. In this country, more and more people are killed every year. While in 2009, the murder rate was about 14, in 2012, as many as 18.4 out of 100,000 Batswana got murdered. Apart from the frequent homicides, local population is also decimated by the AIDS epidemic.
3.Equatorial Guinea, 19.3
With a population of just over 600,000 people, Equatorial Guinea is another African country that finds its place in this sad statistics regularly. Alarmingly high occurrence of armed drug gangs and robbers combined with poor police activity is one of the major reasons why murders as well as other crimes are so common in the country.
4.Mexico, 21.5
5.Saint Lucia, 21.6
With a population of about 175,000 people, Saint Lucia is another little Caribbean country that is, apart from amazing natural beauties and marvelous beaches, known for very high homicide rate. And, sadly enough, the number has been still growing. While in 2007, there were “only” 27 murders reported in the country, just four years later, it was almost twice as many.
6.Dominican Republic, 22.1
The second largest Caribbean country, the Dominican Republic, is home to almost 10 million people. The murders in this country are frequently associated with drug trade since the Dominican Republic serves as a transit station for Colombian drugs destined to Europe and the U.S. The country has been also criticized for its mild approach to convicted criminals.
7.Rwanda, 23.1
Located in Central and East Africa, Rwanda has experienced one of the most hideous and atrocious genocide in human history and, unfortunately, killing people still seems to be a sorrowfully common thing in this country. But high number of homicides is not the only problem Rwanda has been struggling with – other types of violent crimes such as rape or robbery are also common.
8.Brazil, 25.2
With a population of over 200 million, Brazil is one of the largest and most populous countries in the list as well in the world. But the huge number of inhabitants brings about a dramatic amount of murders – just in 2012 alone, almost 65,000 people were killed in the country. It is believed that drug trade and alcoholism are among the major causes of the high homicide occurrence.
9.Trinidad and Tobago, 28.3
Although Trinidad and Tobago is the third richest country per capita in the Americas after the U.S. and Canada, and it is recognized as a high income economy, this Caribbean country has been listed among those with the highest homicide rate in the world. In the recent years, on average, more than 28 out of 100,000 people have been murdered annually.
10.The Bahamas, 29.8
A former British crown colony, Bahamas is an island country consisting of more than 700 islands in the Atlantic Ocean. Despite being relatively rich country with its economy based on tourism and finance, Bahamas has been unsuccessfully dealing with the same problem as their Caribbean neighbors. In 2013, for example, 120 people were killed in the country, which contributed to the average homicide rate of almost 30.