Death rate for homicide in the U.S. 1950-2018
Homicides in the United States
The term homicide is used when a human being is killed by another human being. Criminal homicide takes several forms, for example murder; but homicide is not always a crime, it also includes affirmative defense, insanity, self-defense or the execution of convicted criminals.
Youth homicide is especially seen as a problem of urban areas, due to poverty, limited adult supervision, involvement in drug and gang activities, and school failure. Young men aged 15-24 show the highest risk of being killed in the United States in 2016. There is a large difference between female and males within this age group: about 20.1 male homicide deaths per 100,000 residents, and 3.3 female homicide deaths per 100,000 residents were counted that year.
Comparing regions around the world, Africa is the continent with the highest share of homicides in 2010. The Americas are ranked second, making up 31 percent of all global homicides in that same year.
As of 2008, about 90 percent of homicide victims in the Americas were male and only 10 percent of homicide victims were female. Whereas in Europe, about 27 percent of homicide victims were female and approximately 73 percent of homicide victims were male.