San Salvador. Image by El Salvador’s ongoing safety transformation is making headlines in 2025, as the days without homicides are increasing.
As of April 20, the country has already recorded 91 murder-free days, slightly surpassing the 84 zero-homicide days during the same period in 2024.
This positive trend builds on last year’s record-breaking achievement when El Salvador closed 2024 with an unprecedented 281 days without a single murder—a historic milestone for a country once considered one of the most violent in the world.
It’s worth looking back to fully grasp the scale of this progress. Between 2005 and 2019, under the administrations of former presidents Tony Saca, Mauricio Funes, and Salvador Sánchez Cerén, El Salvador managed fewer than five days without homicides in 15 years combined.
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 24 | 26 |
| February | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 24 | 25 |
| March | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 22 | 23 |
| April | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 24 | 19 | 20 |
| May | 0 | 6 | 3 | 17 | 18 | 21 | |
| June | 0 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 21 | 25 | |
| July | 1 | 2 | 5 | 19 | 23 | 22 | |
| August | 0 | 2 | 7 | 18 | 20 | 18 | |
| September | 2 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 20 | 23 | |
| October | 2 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 14 | 27 | |
| November | 0 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 23 | 26 | |
| December | 1 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 20 | 30 | |
| Total | 6 | 26 | 31 | 167 | 246 | 281 | 91 |
The Days Without Homicides in El Salvador from 2019 to 2025 exclude the deaths of suspected gang members killed in confrontations with Salvadoran security forces, as well as murders involving bodies discovered in mass graves.
SEE ALSO: El Salvador Excludes Key Data From Homicide Tally: Implications for Crime Statistics
What’s Driving This Change?
The Territorial Control Plan and the State of Exception are the two government initiatives that have contributed to much of El Salvador’s security gains.
The Territorial Control Plan, launched in June 2019 when President Nayib Bukele took office, consists of a multi-phase strategy designed to dismantle gang influence and restore state authority in historically dangerous communities.
The State of Exception, enacted in March 2022 following a deadly surge in violence, granted expanded powers to law enforcement and has since been extended 36 consecutive times.
Though controversial due to its restrictions on certain constitutional rights, the State of Exception measure has played a central role in the country’s rapid achievement of days without homicides.
Since the implementation of the State of Exception, authorities have arrested more than 84,000 suspected gang members and collaborators, dealing a massive blow to the criminal networks that once terrorized the nation.
| Year | Total Homicides | Daily Homicide Rate | Homicides per 100,000 Inhabitants |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 *April 20 |
21 | 0.19 | 1.16 *Estimated |
| 2024 | 114 | 0.31 | 1.89 |
| 2023 | 156 | 0.43 | 2.4 |
| 2022 | 495 | 1.36 | 7.8 |
| 2021 | 1152 | 3.16 | 18.1 |
| 2020 | 1341 | 3.67 | 21.2 |
| 2019 | 2398 | 6.57 | 35.8 |
| 2018 | 3346 | 9.17 | 50.4 |
| 2017 | 3962 | 10.85 | 60.2 |
| 2016 | 5280 | 14.47 | 81.0 |
| 2015 | 6656 | 18.24 | 103.0 |
| 2014 | 3921 | 10.74 | 61.3 |
| 2013 | 2513 | 6.88 | 40.6 |
Days Without Homicides in El Salvador: A New Chapter for the Country
It’s almost hard to believe how much things have changed. In 2018, the year before President Bukele took office, El Salvador’s average daily murder rate was 9.17—not a single day passed without at least one homicide.
Fast-forward to 2025, and zero-homicide days have become common—a powerful symbol of the country’s evolving reality.
Beyond the statistics, Salvadoran culture is changing, too. As violence decreases, communities reclaim their streets, public spaces are revitalized, and a renewed sense of hope takes root nationwide.
