Colombia ranked 10th in a newly published United Nations report on countries with the highest murder rates in the world.
Countries with the highest homicide rates in the world
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The report, published by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said the murder rate in Colombia was 30.8 homicides per 100,000 people in 2012.
The 2013 report was published last week and based on data from 2012, which is compiled from each nation’s health or law enforcement authorities.
The UNODC statistics are lower than those provided annually by the Medical Examiner’s Office.
One factor highlighted by the report in explaining Colombia’s violence was drug production activities. It stated that, “competition between illegal armed groups and the Government, over control of territories suitable for coca cultivation and cocaine production can result in lethal violence.”
Despite being in the top 10, the latest figure is a decrease from the rate of 33.6 per 100,000 in 2011, and significantly lower than the rate of 65 in 2002.
Colombia’s homicide rate since 1999
The report says Colombia’s dropping homicide rate is due to “increases in stability and prosperity, as well as the decline in the threat from armed criminal and revolutionary groups.”
MORE: Colombia’s homicide rate hits lowest level in 27 years
Six Latin American countries made the top 10 list, with Honduras topping with a rate of 90.4 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Sources
- 2013 Global Study on Homicide (UNODC)
- These 10 Countries Have The World’s Highest Murder Rates (Huffington Post)
