Murder
Worldwide
452,514
Someone is murdered every 70 seconds worldwide.
That frequency, adds up to 1,240 murders every day and nearly half a million every year worldwide. Murder (officially “intentional homicide”) is defined by the UNDOC as “unlawful death purposefully inflicted on a person by another person”. It does not include killings in war/conflict, self-inflicted deaths (suicides), killings in self-defense or state-sanctioned death sentences.
Globally, 95% of all murders are committed by men; 80% of their victims are also men. 15% of all homicides stem from domestic violence (63,600 per year) an overwhelming majority - nearly 70% - result in the death of a woman (43,600 per year). Firearms are the most widely used murder weapons, causing 4 in 10 homicides globally; in North and South America firearms account for nearly 7 in 10 homicides.
MALE
FEMALE
Less than half of all murderers are ever convicted of murder, roughly 42 convictions per 100 homicides. However, this rate of conviction varies greatly across regions; 24% in North and South America, 48% in Asia and 81% in Europe.