Costa Rica vs Panama: Homicide rate
Costa Rica
12.02 deaths per 100,000 people
in 2022
Panama
9.85 deaths per 100,000 people
in 2022
Costa Rica rank
15th
Panama rank
17th
Homicide rate over time
- Costa Rica
- Panama
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 12.02 deaths per 100,000 people against 9.85 deaths per 100,000 people in Panama, a difference of 2.17 deaths per 100,000 people.
That makes Costa Rica's figure about 1.2 times Panama's.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 55 shared years of data; in 1961 it was Panama ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 15th and Panama ranks 17th of 111 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 3 and Panama in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Panama | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.08 deaths per 100,000 people | 4.57 deaths per 100,000 people | 1.49 deaths per 100,000 people | Panama |
| 1970s | 3.98 deaths per 100,000 people | 2.56 deaths per 100,000 people | 1.43 deaths per 100,000 people | Costa Rica |
| 1980s | 4.53 deaths per 100,000 people | 4.18 deaths per 100,000 people | 0.347 deaths per 100,000 people | Costa Rica |
| 1990s | 5.65 deaths per 100,000 people | 8.65 deaths per 100,000 people | 3.01 deaths per 100,000 people | Panama |
| 2000s | 6.94 deaths per 100,000 people | 12.91 deaths per 100,000 people | 5.97 deaths per 100,000 people | Panama |
| 2010s | 9.95 deaths per 100,000 people | 14.74 deaths per 100,000 people | 4.79 deaths per 100,000 people | Panama |
| 2020s | 11.53 deaths per 100,000 people | 10.68 deaths per 100,000 people | 0.8513 deaths per 100,000 people | Costa Rica |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher homicide rate, Costa Rica or Panama?
- Costa Rica, at 12.02 deaths per 100,000 people against 9.85 deaths per 100,000 people in Panama as of 2022.
- What is the difference in homicide rate between Costa Rica and Panama?
- 2.17 deaths per 100,000 people, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Panama?
- 55 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2022.
- How do Costa Rica and Panama rank globally for homicide rate?
- Costa Rica ranks 15th and Panama ranks 17th of 111 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Homicide rate. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Annual number of deaths from homicide per 100,000 people.