Latin America.
In 2025, Latin America remained one of the world’s most violent regions, though new figures suggest modest improvement. According to the latest crime stats, the region’s homicide rate continued a gradual decline compared with recent years.
The 2025 homicide rate in Latin America was 17.2 per 100,000 people. The numbers remain extremely high by global standards; however, they reflect a 7.7% rate decrease compared with the year before.
The Latin American countries with the lowest homicide rates in 2025 were El Salvador, Argentina, and Chile. On the other hand, the highest homicide rates in the region were recorded by Ecuador, Colombia, and Honduras.
| Country | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024-2025 % Change |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Salvador | 2.4 | 1.89 | 1.36 | -28% |
| 2 | Argentina | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.7 | -5.3% |
| 3 | Chile | 6.3 | 6.1 | 5.4 | -10.4% |
| 4 | Paraguay | 7.3 | 7.5 | 6.1 | -18.6% |
| 5 | Uruguay | 11.1 | 10.7 | 10.3 | -3.7% |
| 6 | Peru | 9.3 | 10.1 | 10.7 | 6.3% |
| 7 | Panama | 11.5 | 12.9 | 12.9 | — |
| 8 | Mexico | 23.3 | 19.3 | 15.4 | -19.8 |
| 9 | Costa Rica | 17.7 | 17.0 | 16.8 | -1.3% |
| 10 | Guatemala | 16.7 | 16.1 | 17.4 | 8% |
| 11 | Brazil | 21.7 | 21.0 | 19.2 | -8.5% |
| 12 | Honduras | 31.1 | 25.3 | 23.2 | -8.2% |
| 13 | Colombia | 25.7 | 25.3 | 25.8 | 1.9% |
| 14 | Ecuador | 44.5 | 38.8 | 50.9 | 31.2% |
| – | Bolivia | 3.6 | 3.0 | — | — |
| – | Venezuela | 26.8 | 26.2 | — | — |
| – | Nicaragua | 6.2 | — | — | — |
The 2025 homicide rate for Latin America does not include Bolivia, Venezuela, or Nicaragua, as their official homicide figures had not been released. As a result, regional comparisons are based only on countries with available data.
SEE ALSO: Living in El Salvador: Top Reasons for Moving to El Salvador
Best and Worst Latin America Homicide Rates
For the third straight year, El Salvador recorded the lowest homicide rate in Latin America. The country ended 2025 with 82 murders, equal to a rate of 1.36 per 100,000 people—a 28.1% drop from the previous year.
By contrast, Ecuador recorded the region’s highest homicide rate in 2025. The country reported 9,216 murders, resulting in a rate of 50.9 per 100,000 people, a 31.2% increase compared with the previous year.
It’s important to note that El Salvador excludes certain deaths from its homicide rate, such as those resulting from confrontations between authorities and suspected gang members, as well as murders involving bodies found in mass graves.
By excluding these deaths, El Salvador’s homicide rate may seem lower than it actually is. Nevertheless, it is still the lowest in Latin America.
Best & Worst Performers
In 2025, El Salvador, Mexico, and Paraguay recorded the largest drops in homicide rates, with declines of 28.1%, 19.8%, and 18.6%, respectively.
Meanwhile, Ecuador (31.2%), Guatemala (8%), and Peru (6.3%) posted the largest increases, underscoring rising violence in parts of the region—particularly in Ecuador.
El Salvador (-28%)
El Salvador reported only 82 homicides in 2025, giving the country the lowest homicide rate in its history at 1.36. However, the government uses a more restrictive definition of homicide than other countries.
Bodies found in clandestine graves—often used by gangs to hide victims—as well as deaths caused by police and killings inside prisons, are excluded from the official statistics.
Ecuador (+31.2%)
Ecuador’s homicide rate increased 31.2% compared with 2024, reaching a record high of 50.9 per 100,000 people in 2025.
President Noboa launched a militarized campaign against organized crime, targeting criminal groups by capturing their leaders and detaining lower-level gang members.
Authorities arrested dozens of high-profile figures in 2025, including Adolfo Macías Villamar, leader of the Choneros, one of Ecuador’s main drug trafficking organizations.
However, the arrests triggered a new wave of violence. The Choneros clashed with their main rival, Los Lobos, in the province of Manabí—historically a stronghold of the Choneros—where Los Lobos gained significant ground.
After Fito’s capture, fighting between the two groups intensified, pushing homicides in the area to record levels in 2025.
