Data
El Salvador homicide rate
El Salvador's homicide rate by year, from the 2015 peak of 103 per 100,000 to the present. Compiled from National Civil Police and Ministry of Justice figures.
Homicides per 100,000, 2025
1.9
Measured in homicides per 100,000 people. Updated annually.
Last checked · updated annually
| Year | Homicides | Rate per 100k |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 6656 | 103 |
| 2016 | 5280 | 81.2 |
| 2017 | 3962 | 60.8 |
| 2018 | 3346 | 51 |
| 2019 | 2398 | 36 |
| 2020 | 1341 | 19.7 |
| 2021 | 1147 | 17.6 |
| 2022 | 496 | 7.8 |
| 2023 | 154 | 2.4 |
| 2024 | 114 | 1.9 |
| 2025 | 114 | 1.9 |
El Salvador recorded the highest homicide rate on earth in 2015 outside an active war zone. A decade later it reports one of the lowest in the Western Hemisphere — below the United States, and below every one of its neighbours.
What drove it
The fall began before the state of exception: rates were already down two thirds between 2015 and 2020, a period that includes a disputed gang truce and a change of government. The sharpest drop came after March 2022, when emergency powers suspended several constitutional protections and more than 85,000 people were detained.
How to read the figures
Counting methodology matters. Official figures exclude deaths in custody and disappearances, both of which human-rights organisations argue should be considered. The direction and scale of the decline are not seriously disputed; the precise level is.
For what this means if you are travelling, see is El Salvador safe.
Source: Policía Nacional Civil / Ministerio de Justicia y Seguridad Pública. Official page. Compiled by AH El Salvador and last checked September 1, 2026. Free to reproduce with a link.