Only 3.7 percent of crimes were reported to authorities in Mexico in 2023. At the same time 74.6 percent of people said they felt safe only to a low extent or not at all in their municipality. These patterns of underreporting and insecurity form the core of available crime statistics.
Key Takeaways
- 74.6% of people in Mexico in 2023 reported feeling safe only “to a low extent” or “not at all” in their municipality — perception of safety distribution from ENVIPE
- 1.9% of respondents in Mexico reported being victims of robbery in the last 12 months (2023) — victimization from ENVIPE
- 27.2% of Mexicans reported that the main reason they did not report a crime was “No sirve de nada” (2023) — deterrence/underreporting motive from ENVIPE
- 37% of Mexican organizations reported that they experienced a breach in the past year — survey share of organizations impacted
- 72.0% of organizations in Mexico used the same or similar password across accounts — password hygiene weakness rate (consumer/security survey measure)
- 6.7% of all malware detections were attributed to Mexico’s top malware family in 2023 — attribution share from threat telemetry analysis
- 3.3 million — estimate of people in Mexico experiencing serious extortion-related harm from organized crime (survey estimate) in 2021 — measurement from a credible study
- 3.2% of GDP — estimate of the cost of crime to Mexico’s economy (World Bank/Inter-American Development Bank combined analysis) — GDP share cost metric
- 14% of firms in Mexico reported financial losses due to crime in the last 12 months — enterprise survey share (survey-based) related to crime and business disruption
- US$4.0 billion — estimated value of goods diverted due to theft/robbery connected to organized crime (report estimate) — economic diversion amount
- 0.7% of GDP — Mexico’s public security spending as a percent of GDP (government budget + international comparison) — spending intensity metric
- $6.3 billion MXN — federal spending on public security in a recent budget year (official budget document) — annual spending amount
- 45% — share of municipalities reporting insufficient resources for crime prevention programs (municipal survey) — funding adequacy metric
- 98.2% of homicides in Mexico involved at least one firearm (2019–2022) — Mexico homicide characterization from UNODC
- 9,172 — number of homicides recorded in Mexico in 2020 — compiled homicide counts used by UNODC
From low public safety and major breach risks to costly extortion and underreporting, crime hits Mexico daily.
Related reading
01 · Category
Crime Victimization9 stats
01
74.6% of people in Mexico in 2023 reported feeling safe only “to a low extent” or “not at all” in their municipality — perception of safety distribution from ENVIPE
02
1.9% of respondents in Mexico reported being victims of robbery in the last 12 months (2023) — victimization from ENVIPE
03
27.2% of Mexicans reported that the main reason they did not report a crime was “No sirve de nada” (2023) — deterrence/underreporting motive from ENVIPE
04
41.7% of households in Mexico said they used a non-governmental or community mechanism to deal with crime in the last 12 months (2023) — community response indicator from ENVIPE
05
2.5 million — number of people in Mexico who were victims of extortion in 2021 (survey estimate) — cited estimate from a peer-reviewed study
06
21.4% of Mexicans reported feeling safe only “to some extent” or better in their municipality (2023) — perception distribution from ENVIPE complement
07
3.7% of crimes were reported to authorities in Mexico (2023) — reporting rate from ENVIPE
08
12.6% of Mexican businesses reported being victims of crime in the last 12 months (2019) — business victimization share from a national survey cited in OECD/UN reports
09
17% of Mexican firms report security spending as a share of total operating costs (2020) — enterprise security expenditure share from a business risk survey
Interpretation
Crime Victimization Interpretation
In Mexico’s crime victimization picture, a large share of people feel unsafe, with 74.6% reporting they feel safe only to a low extent or not at all in their municipality in 2023, while only 1.9% report being victims of robbery and 27.2% say the main reason they do not report crimes is that it “No sirve de nada,” suggesting both widespread fear and substantial underreporting.
02 · Category
Cybercrime Trends4 stats
01
37% of Mexican organizations reported that they experienced a breach in the past year — survey share of organizations impacted
02
72.0% of organizations in Mexico used the same or similar password across accounts — password hygiene weakness rate (consumer/security survey measure)
03
6.7% of all malware detections were attributed to Mexico’s top malware family in 2023 — attribution share from threat telemetry analysis
04
49% of Mexican organizations reported average time to identify a breach exceeded 200 days — breach response timing from a survey-based incident study
Interpretation
Cybercrime Trends Interpretation
In Mexico’s cybercrime landscape, 37% of organizations reported a breach in the past year and 49% say identifying one took over 200 days, showing that cyber incidents are common and detection and response are still seriously lagging.
03 · Category
Organized Crime1 stats
01
3.3 million — estimate of people in Mexico experiencing serious extortion-related harm from organized crime (survey estimate) in 2021 — measurement from a credible study
Interpretation
Organized Crime Interpretation
In Mexico, an estimated 3.3 million people were affected by serious extortion-related harm tied to organized crime in 2021, underscoring how deeply organized crime reaches into everyday life.
04 · Category
Economic Impact6 stats
01
3.2% of GDP — estimate of the cost of crime to Mexico’s economy (World Bank/Inter-American Development Bank combined analysis) — GDP share cost metric
02
14% of firms in Mexico reported financial losses due to crime in the last 12 months — enterprise survey share (survey-based) related to crime and business disruption
03
US$4.0 billion — estimated value of goods diverted due to theft/robbery connected to organized crime (report estimate) — economic diversion amount
04
$1.7 billion — estimated annual cost of extortion to businesses in Mexico (industry/security risk report) — annual extortion cost estimate
05
US$1.5 billion — estimated annual cost of cybercrime impacting Latin America including Mexico (ITU/other report) — annual cybercrime cost figure
06
56% — share of municipal officials in Mexico who report resource shortages affecting public security operations (survey estimate) — operational capability limitation share
Interpretation
Economic Impact Interpretation
Mexico’s economic impact from crime is substantial, with estimates reaching 3.2% of GDP and businesses and government operations affected at multiple levels, including 14% of firms reporting losses from crime and 56% of municipal officials citing resource shortages that hinder public security.
More related reading
05 · Category
Public Security Spending3 stats
01
0.7% of GDP — Mexico’s public security spending as a percent of GDP (government budget + international comparison) — spending intensity metric
02
$6.3 billion MXN — federal spending on public security in a recent budget year (official budget document) — annual spending amount
03
45% — share of municipalities reporting insufficient resources for crime prevention programs (municipal survey) — funding adequacy metric
Interpretation
Public Security Spending Interpretation
Mexico’s public security spending amounts to just 0.7% of GDP and around $6.3 billion MXN in federal funding, while 45% of municipalities say they lack sufficient resources for crime prevention programs, pointing to a persistent funding gap at the local level within the public security spending picture.
06 · Category
Homicide & Violence2 stats
01
98.2% of homicides in Mexico involved at least one firearm (2019–2022) — Mexico homicide characterization from UNODC
02
9,172 — number of homicides recorded in Mexico in 2020 — compiled homicide counts used by UNODC
Interpretation
Homicide & Violence Interpretation
For the Homicide & Violence angle, Mexico’s homicides are overwhelmingly linked to firearms, with 98.2% involving at least one weapon from 2019 to 2022, including 9,172 recorded deaths in 2020.
07 · Category
Organized Crime Impact2 stats
01
1.6 million — number of Mexicans estimated to have paid extortion in 2022 (survey-based) — RAND estimate
02
79% of households in Mexico report feeling unsafe in their area due to crime (2023) — perception measure from LAPOP/AmericasBarometer
Interpretation
Organized Crime Impact Interpretation
In Mexico, organized crime is hitting hard at scale, with 1.6 million people estimated to have paid extortion in 2022 and 79% of households reporting they feel unsafe because of crime in their area.
report visual · Comparison
Safety perceptions and underreporting in Mexico (ENVIPE, 2023)
In 2023, most Mexicans reported feeling unsafe, and only a small share of crimes were reported to authorities—suggesting widespread underreporting.
74.6% of people in Mexico in 2023 reported feeling safe only “to a low extent” or “not at all” in their municipality — p74.6%
27.2% of Mexicans reported that the main reason they did not report a crime was “No sirve de nada” (2023) — deterrence/u27.2%
21.4% of Mexicans reported feeling safe only “to some extent” or better in their municipality (2023) — perception distri21.4%
3.7% of crimes were reported to authorities in Mexico (2023) — reporting rate from ENVIPE3.7%
source-verifiedinegi.org.mx2023
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Marcus Afolabi. (2026, February 13). Mexican Crime Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/mexican-crime-statistics
MLA
Marcus Afolabi. "Mexican Crime Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/mexican-crime-statistics.
Chicago
Marcus Afolabi. 2026. "Mexican Crime Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/mexican-crime-statistics.
Sources & references
27 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
inegi.org.mx
ibm.com
verizon.com
av-test.org
worldbank.org
publications.iadb.org
enterprisesurveys.org
oecd.org
acfe.com
itu.intgob.mx
sciencedirect.com
dataunodc.un.org
rand.org
vanderbilt.edu
oecd-ilibrary.org
skr.com
+10 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)