Every day, over 300 lives are lost to intentional homicide, but this staggering number is just the tip of a violent iceberg that spans intimate partner abuse, armed conflict, and terror, painting a chilling picture of global suffering.
Key Takeaways
- In 2021, the global intentional homicide rate stood at 6.0 per 100,000 people, with Latin America and the Caribbean having the highest regional rate at 20.6 per 100,000
- Globally, 58% of all homicides in 2022 were committed with firearms, compared to only 16% in Europe
- In 2019, Brazil recorded 41,635 homicides, the highest nationally, equating to a rate of 19.9 per 100,000 inhabitants
- In 2023, Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 93 state-based conflicts worldwide, the highest since 1946
- The year 2022 saw 152,000 battle-related deaths globally, with 122,000 in Ukraine alone
- Ukraine conflict caused over 10,000 civilian deaths by mid-2023, per UN estimates
- Globally, 736 million women have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) or non-partner sexual violence in lifetime
- In 2022, 38% of all murders of women globally were committed by intimate partners
- 27% of women aged 15-49 who have been in a relationship report physical and/or sexual violence by current or former partner
- In 2023, Global Terrorism Index recorded 6,701 terrorism deaths, lowest since 2013
- Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 48% of global terrorism deaths in 2023
- Sahel region had 53% increase in terrorism deaths to 2,400 in 2023
- Globally, 120 million girls under 20 have experienced sexual violence
- 1 in 3 women worldwide have experienced physical and/or sexual violence, mostly by intimate partner
- In 2022, 51,100 women and girls killed by intimate partners/family
Global violence varies greatly by region, with Latin America disproportionately affected.
Armed Conflicts
- In 2023, Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 93 state-based conflicts worldwide, the highest since 1946
- The year 2022 saw 152,000 battle-related deaths globally, with 122,000 in Ukraine alone
- Ukraine conflict caused over 10,000 civilian deaths by mid-2023, per UN estimates
- In 2022, Myanmar had 12,000 conflict deaths, highest in Asia
- Sahel region (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger) saw 8,000 conflict fatalities in 2023
- Ethiopia's Tigray war resulted in 162,000-600,000 deaths by 2022 estimates
- In 2023, Gaza conflict led to over 30,000 Palestinian deaths reported by Gaza Health Ministry
- Yemen civil war has caused 377,000 deaths since 2014, including indirect, per UN 2021
- Syria conflict death toll exceeds 500,000 since 2011, per Syrian Observatory
- In 2022, 25 countries experienced state-based armed conflict
- Africa hosted 33 active armed conflicts in 2023, more than any other region
- Global non-state conflict deaths reached 35,000 in 2022
- Afghanistan saw 4,000 conflict deaths in 2023 post-Taliban takeover
- Sudan conflict since 2023 has killed over 15,000, displaced 10 million
- Colombia had 170 state-based conflict events in 2023
- One-sided violence killed 18,000 civilians globally in 2022
- DR Congo conflicts caused 25,000 deaths in 2022
- Nigeria's Boko Haram insurgency killed 2,500 in 2023
- Somalia had 5,800 conflict-related deaths in 2023
- Mali conflict fatalities over 3,000 in 2023
- Ukraine reported 70,000 military deaths by 2024 estimates
- Russia-Ukraine war displaced 6.9 million internally in Ukraine by 2024
- Global conflicts displaced 117 million people in 2024
- In 2023, 79,000 children were recruited into armed groups worldwide
- Gaza received 45% of global humanitarian appeals in 2024
- Sudan famine risk affects 25 million due to conflict in 2024
- 35% of global conflicts are in Middle East/North Africa in 2023
- In 2022, battle deaths in Middle East reached 25,000
- Asia saw 40,000 conflict deaths in 2022, driven by Myanmar and Afghanistan
- Europe had zero armed conflicts pre-2022, now one major
- Americas had 12 non-state conflicts in 2023
- 1 in 6 countries faced acute food insecurity due to conflict in 2023
Armed Conflicts Interpretation
We are living in an era where our capacity for peace seems to be shrinking faster than the data can tally its catastrophic cost.
Homicides
- In 2021, the global intentional homicide rate stood at 6.0 per 100,000 people, with Latin America and the Caribbean having the highest regional rate at 20.6 per 100,000
- Globally, 58% of all homicides in 2022 were committed with firearms, compared to only 16% in Europe
- In 2019, Brazil recorded 41,635 homicides, the highest nationally, equating to a rate of 19.9 per 100,000 inhabitants
- Mexico saw 34,648 homicides in 2021, with a rate of 27.3 per 100,000, driven largely by organized crime
- In 2020, South Africa had a homicide rate of 36.4 per 100,000, one of the highest outside Latin America
- Globally, men accounted for 81% of homicide victims and 90% of perpetrators in 2021
- In 2017, 151,000 women and girls were killed by intimate partners or family members worldwide
- The United States had 48,830 firearm homicides in 2021, a rate of 14.7 per 100,000
- In India, 28,522 homicide cases were reported in 2021, with a rate of 2.1 per 100,000
- Russia reported 7,967 homicides in 2021, down from previous years, rate of 5.5 per 100,000
- In 2022, Venezuela's homicide rate was estimated at 40.4 per 100,000 amid ongoing crisis
- Colombia recorded 12,297 homicides in 2022, rate of 24.3 per 100,000
- Globally, youth aged 10-29 account for 37% of homicide victims despite being 16% of population in 2019
- In 2021, Jamaica had the third highest homicide rate globally at 52.9 per 100,000
- Lesotho topped Africa with 43.6 homicides per 100,000 in 2021
- In 2020, the Philippines reported 1,369 homicides linked to drug war, rate around 5.4 per 100,000 overall
- Honduras homicide rate dropped to 35.1 per 100,000 in 2022 from higher peaks
- El Salvador saw a drastic drop to 2.4 homicides per 100,000 in 2023 due to gang crackdown
- In 2021, Nigeria had approximately 48,000 homicides, rate of 22.9 per 100,000
- Thailand reported 4,527 homicides in 2022, rate of 6.4 per 100,000
- In 2022, Ecuador's homicide rate surged to 25.9 per 100,000
- Globally, organized crime groups were responsible for 50% of homicides in 2021
- In 2019, 82% of homicide victims in Central America were male
- South Sudan had 14.2 homicides per 100,000 in recent estimates
- In 2021, Pakistan recorded 13,786 homicides, rate of 6.3 per 100,000
- Turkey saw 1,434 homicides in 2022, rate of 1.7 per 100,000
- In 2020, Afghanistan had an estimated homicide rate of 6.7 per 100,000
- Globally, intimate partner/family homicides made up 37% of female victims in 2017
- In 2022, Guatemala reported 4,020 homicides, rate of 23.7 per 100,000
- Yemen's homicide rate estimated at 6.8 per 100,000 in 2021 amid conflict
Homicides Interpretation
While the global map of murder is uneven, with Latin America tragically shaded the darkest and firearms often the chosen brushstroke, the grim masterpiece universally depicts men as both its primary artists and canvases, with women too often killed in the very places meant to be safe.
Intimate Partner Violence
- Globally, 736 million women have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) or non-partner sexual violence in lifetime
- In 2022, 38% of all murders of women globally were committed by intimate partners
- 27% of women aged 15-49 who have been in a relationship report physical and/or sexual violence by current or former partner
- In low- and middle-income countries, 35% of girls aged 15-19 have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence
- Globally, 6% of women report being sexually assaulted by someone other than their husband or partner
- In India, 31% of women aged 15-49 have experienced physical violence since age 15
- US data shows 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men experience severe intimate partner physical violence
- In Australia, 25% of women have experienced emotional abuse from a partner
- South Africa has lifetime IPV prevalence of 31% for women
- In Brazil, 10.6% of women reported severe physical violence by partner in past year
- Globally, 137 women die daily from partner/family violence
- In Europe, 1 in 3 women has experienced physical and/or sexual violence since age 15
- Kenya reports 41% of women experienced physical violence, 14% sexual
- In Mexico, 43.9% of ever-partnered women aged 15+ have suffered violence
- Nigeria has 30% lifetime prevalence of IPV among women
- In China, 24.7% of women report lifetime physical or sexual violence by partner
- UK sees 2 million adults affected by domestic abuse annually
- In Egypt, 27.5% of women experienced spousal violence
- Bangladesh reports 52.3% ever-married women experienced IPV
- In Peru, 51% of women aged 15-49 have experienced partner violence
- Globally, during COVID-19, IPV reports increased 20-30% in some countries
- In 2021, 48% of female homicide victims killed by intimate partner/family
- Rwanda post-genocide sees 58% women experienced IPV
- In Turkey, 38% of women faced partner violence
- Colombia reports 37.4% lifetime IPV prevalence
- In Ethiopia, 35% of women experienced physical violence from husband
- Globally, 45% of women killed by intimate partners in 2020
Intimate Partner Violence Interpretation
The statistics paint a grim, global truth: violence against women is a pandemic in its own right, a chronic terror woven into the fabric of daily life that too often begins at home with a partner's hand.
Sexual Violence
- Globally, 120 million girls under 20 have experienced sexual violence
- 1 in 3 women worldwide have experienced physical and/or sexual violence, mostly by intimate partner
- In 2022, 51,100 women and girls killed by intimate partners/family
- Conflict-related sexual violence affected 13,870 verified cases in 2022 across 21 countries
- In DRC, over 200,000 cases of sexual violence reported since 2010
- Globally, 23% of women report non-partner sexual violence
- India reported 31,677 rape cases in 2021
- South Africa has highest rape rate at 72.1 per 100,000 women
- In Sweden, 1 in 10 women victims of sexual crime since age 15
- US: 433,648 rape/sexual assault victimizations annually
- In Nigeria, 25% of women experienced sexual violence
- Brazil registers 88,000 rapes yearly, underreported
- Globally, 82 million girls at risk of child marriage leading to violence by 2030
- In Haiti, 33% of women experienced sexual violence lifetime
- Kenya: 14% women experienced sexual violence by partner
- In Ukraine war, 100+ sexual violence cases verified by UN in 2022
- Globally, female genital mutilation affects 200 million women/girls
- Mexico: 21,000 sexual violence cases reported 2022
- In Pakistan, 5,200 rape cases registered in 2022
- Australia: 2,100 sexual assaults daily equivalent
- In Ethiopia, 10% women experienced sexual violence
- UK: 800,000 women raped/sexually assaulted yearly
- Globally, 99% sexual violence against women/girls unreported
- In Bangladesh, 9.2% ever-married women experienced sexual violence
- Colombia: 40,000 sexual violence cases 2010-2020 war-related
- In Egypt, 12.8% women experienced sexual harassment publicly
- Globally, 650 million women alive today married as children, increasing violence risk
Sexual Violence Interpretation
Behind every one of these staggering numbers lies a shattered human story, revealing a global pandemic of male violence against women and girls that thrives in both war and peace, in our homes and on our streets.
Terrorism
- In 2023, Global Terrorism Index recorded 6,701 terrorism deaths, lowest since 2013
- Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 48% of global terrorism deaths in 2023
- Sahel region had 53% increase in terrorism deaths to 2,400 in 2023
- Islamic State caused 1,805 deaths globally in 2023, down from previous years
- Burkina Faso saw 1,907 terrorism deaths in 2023, highest ever
- Afghanistan terrorism deaths dropped 98% post-Taliban to 27 in 2023
- 95 countries experienced terrorism impacts in 2023
- Nigeria had 1,251 terrorism deaths in 2023
- Syria recorded 1,123 terrorism fatalities in 2023
- Global Terrorism Database logs over 210,000 incidents since 1970
- In 2022, 6,952 terrorism deaths occurred worldwide
- Al-Shabaab responsible for 781 deaths in 2023
- Mali terrorism deaths reached 1,000 in 2023
- Pakistan saw 490 terrorism deaths, highest since 2015
- Somalia had 484 terrorism fatalities in 2023
- Terrorism deaths in Western countries at lowest in decade, 17 in 2023
- IS-Khorasan caused 168 deaths in 2023
- Niger recorded 794 terrorism deaths in 2023
- Over 90% of terrorism deaths in conflict zones in 2023
- Ethiopia saw terrorism deaths rise to 254 in 2023
- Mozambique Cabo Delgado attacks killed 84 in 2023, down from 682 in 2021
- Global terrorism attacks totaled 3,350 in 2023
- 58 countries saw terrorism deaths decrease in 2023
- Boko Haram/ISWAP caused 916 deaths in 2023
- India recorded 123 terrorism deaths in 2023
- Philippines terrorism deaths at 118 in 2023
- Economic impact of terrorism $72 billion in 2023
Terrorism Interpretation
While global terrorism deaths have fallen to their lowest in a decade, the crisis has alarmingly condensed into a burning epicenter in sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly half of all lives are now lost.
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