According to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime at the United Nations (UNODC), in 2012 Honduras recorded 90.4 killings per 100,000 inhabitants.

In Belize, the homicide rate is 44.7 per 100 thousand inhabitants, in El Salvador it is 41.2, and in Guatemala is 39.9.

The average global homicide rate is 6.2 per 100,000.

Panama with a rate of 17.2, Nicaragua with 11.3, and Costa Rica with 8.5, differ favorably compared to their neighbors to the north of the isthmus, but are still above the world average.

Source: United Nations Office on Drug and Crime

More on this topic

Homicide Figures in Central America

January 2018

A report by InSight Crime highlights the homicide rate registered in Costa Rica in 2017, which was 12.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest number in its history.

The report indicates that Costa Rica is a country that has traditionally been considered "peaceful," and in respect to the escalation of the homicide rate, an increase that local authorities attribute to organized crime, the report indicates that " ... lack of retrospective and a vague methodology is weakening the authorities' attempts to attribute blame to organized crime. "

Panama: Improved Crime Statistics

October 2012

Panama's government said that in the last two and half years, the homicide rate has fallen from 24 to 13.5 per 100 thousand inhabitants.

A statement by the Presidency of Panama reads:

Reduction in homicide and drug control demonstrates effectiveness of security strategies

The Power of Central America's Drug Traffickers

August 2010

Do these countries have a real chance of stopping drug trafficking, in the context of economies like Guatemala's where the value of the drug economy is double the country's GDP?

In 2007, just 1% of all South American cocaine sold in the USA passed through the region. Now the figure is between 60% and 90%.

Alarming Increase of Crime in Costa Rica

November 2009

During 2008, homicides increased 39%, and the fact that many crimes go unreported evidences lack of confidence in security institutions.

An article by Mario Bermúdez Vives in Elfinancierocr.com collects data from the State of the Nation Report 2009.

"The percentage of affected population increases in proportion to income levels.