Are most murder victims men or women?
UNODC has a share for 131 countries and territories: male victims are more than half in 125, the median share is 76.5%, and the range runs from 45.0% (Slovenia, 2015) to 96.2% (United States Virgin Islands, 2012); WHO death registration has a share for 112 countries and territories: male victims are more than half in 106, the median share is 79.1%, and the range runs from 44.4% (Slovakia, 2024) to 97.1% (United States Virgin Islands, 2023); each row uses the latest year from 2018 on that both sources cover with at least 20 victims, or else each source's own latest year, so 46 UNODC values and 13 WHO values are older than that source's newest one.
% of homicide victims who were male (men and boys)
Year varies by country (2007–2024) · grey: no figure
United Kingdom: England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland are listed separately. Too small or not separate on this map: French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion. Each colour is one figure per country: one year, not an average, for the year shown in the ranking and when you point at a country.With "How sure" on, hatching marks countries whose latest figure has a trust score below 60 (Low or Very low).
All countries
Each source's value links to its publisher; point at it for the source and year. A value in brackets is shown but doesn't count, and pointing at it says why. Retrieved 2026-10-25.
About this data
Every source on this page (2)
Who is behind the sources
- 100% International body
Each publisher, its funding and its own description
- UNODC · International bodyFunding: Mostly voluntary contributions from member states, multilateral organisations and private donors. sourceIn its own words: “The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) advances justice and security around the globe…” source, retrieved 2026-10-27
- World Health Organization (WHO) · International bodyFunding: Assessed contributions (membership dues) from member states, plus voluntary contributions from member states and other partners. sourceIn its own words: “…WHO is the United Nations agency that connects nations, partners and people to promote health…” source, retrieved 2026-10-27
- UNODC Data Portal, victims of intentional homicide, by sexUsed for 131 countries; counts toward 127. Years 2007 to 2024. Retrieved 2026-10-25.Not counted where: it republishes WHO.Open the publisher's pageData (Excel file)
- WHO Mortality Database, deaths by assault, by sexUsed for 112 countries; counts toward 112. Years 2002 to 2024. Retrieved 2026-10-25.Open the publisher's page
Why the numbers differ (4)
- They come from two separate systems: UNODC compiles police and criminal justice records by sex of the victim, while the WHO Mortality Database counts death certificates with the cause coded as assault (ICD-10 X85-Y09) by sex of the deceased.
- Both shares leave out victims whose sex was not recorded, so they can differ from a share of the total.
- WHO blanks cells with fewer than 3 deaths in its files. When the counts are split by sex this happens more often, and it can move a share in small countries.
- Where many deaths go unregistered, or many violent deaths are coded as "undetermined intent", the WHO counts can miss victims, and the missing deaths need not be split by sex the same way.
Common mistakes (2)
- A share of victims is not a risk. Two countries with the same male share can have very different homicide rates, and a share can change because one group's count moved while the other's stayed the same.
- The share is about victims, not perpetrators. UNODC publishes data on suspects separately.
Context (3)
- UNODC Global Study on Homicide 2023, executive summary (page 7): in 2021, 81 per cent of homicide victims worldwide were men and boys and 19 per cent women and girls. Intimate partners or family members killed 56 per cent of female victims and about 11 per cent of male victims. UNODC also notes that male and female shares are closer to each other in countries with low homicide rates. Retrieved 2026-10-27.
- UNODC metadata for the intentional homicide data: male and female rates use the male or female population, the total rate uses the whole population. Retrieved 2026-10-25.
- WHO rating of death registration completeness and usability by country. Retrieved 2026-10-25.
Sources considered and not used (7)
- Country-years with fewer than 20 victims: A share built on fewer than 20 male plus female victims in a year swings widely from year to year, so such years are left out of both lines and the charts, from both UNODC and WHO. (source, retrieved 2026-10-25)
- WHO Mortality Database, United Kingdom total: UNODC reports England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland separately, so the page shows those three jurisdictions from both sources instead of a UK total.
- UNODC, Central Iraq and Kurdistan Region rows: Sub-national parts of Iraq; the national Iraq series is used instead.
- WHO Mortality Database, Rodrigues and former entities: Rodrigues is part of Mauritius, and former entities (such as the Netherlands Antilles and Serbia and Montenegro) are not current countries.
- WHO Mortality Database, ICD-7 to ICD-9 files: Only the ICD-10 files were used; older code lists do not split out assault the same way. (source, retrieved 2026-10-25)
- WHO Mortality Database, deaths with sex not stated: WHO records some deaths with sex code 9 (unknown). They belong to neither sex, so they are left out of both the male and the female counts. (source, retrieved 2026-10-25)
- IHME Global Burden of Disease (interpersonal violence deaths by sex): The GBD Results tool asks users to register and sign in before downloading estimates (checked 25 October 2026), so no values were taken from it.
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