Crime and violence in Colombia – statistics & facts

Colombia is one of the most affected countries by criminality and violence in Latin America and the world. The situation continues to expand and so do the responses from the government. In just the last ten years, public expenditure on order and security has increased 150 percent, reaching over 25.46 billion Colombian pesos. Meanwhile, the cost of violence for the country in 2021 was around 276 billion dollars, more than double when compared to 2015. Overall, gang activity, illegal drug trafficking, and corruption in the national territory tell a complicated story of violence that continues to torment all Colombian residents, provoking mass migration to other countries and a perpetuating state of insecurity.

Fluctuating homicide rates

In 2020, Colombia ranked fifth with the highest homicide rate in Latin America. Two years later, the homicide rate increased to almost 26.1 cases per every 100,000 inhabitants, which translates to more than 14,000 people losing their lives. Even though this figure is still among the worst globally, it shows an improvement from past decades, including some of the most violent years in Colombian history, from the period known as “La Violencia” (1948-1959) and the operations of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC, 1964-2016). Past armed conflicts and criminal organizations make the use of illegal firearms one of the main problems related to crime and homicides to solve for the government. In fact, almost 77 percent of homicides in 2022 were with firearms.

Femicides in Colombia

Femicide can be defined as the killing of women or girls due to their gender, in Colombia, the legal framework is the killing of women due to their condition of being a woman or gender identity motives. Femicide was not typified as a crime in the country until 2015. Seven years later, 612 victims of femicide were reported in Colombia, ten cases less than the previous year. Valle del Cauca, Antioquia, and Bogota were the departments with the highest number of femicides with more than 80 each. As in other countries, women are most likely to be killed by the people closest to them. In most Colombian cases, the perpetrator was either a current or former steady partner or an ex-boyfriend or boyfriend.

The war against cocaine

Drugs are a dangerous and lucrative business. It is estimated that one kilogram of coca paste base is worth 2.8 billion Colombian pesos (around 588 USD, at the exchange rate of end of December 2022) in the region of Catatumbo. At the same time, the minimum monthly wage in Colombia in 2023 was around 1.3 million COP. To end the illicit cultivation of coca the government eradicated around 70,000 hectares in 2022, but like a Hydra -- a never-ending problem of more heads growing after taking one off -- it was estimated that during the same year around 204,000 hectares of national territory were used for the illicit cultivation of coca, almost eight times more than the harvested area for soybeans. The government announced that in 2021 approximately 88,600 metric tons of coca paste, and another 783 metric tons of cocaine were seized.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Dec 21, 2023

Key insights

Per capita cost of violence
5,235 USD
Cost of violence as share of GDP
29%
Most common property crime
Regular theft
Get more insights

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Number of violent deaths in Colombia in 2021, by cause

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Number of corruption and economic crimes recorded in Colombia in 2020, by type of felony

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Most frequent corruption and economic crimes in Colombia 2020

Number of reported cases of sexual violence in Colombia in 2021, by gender and age of victim

Violent Crime

Sexual violence cases in Colombia 2021, by victim's gender & age

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