Murder rate in South Africa
The murder crime-type page shows raw counts; this page shows the same murders adjusted for population as a rate per 100,000.
South Africa recorded 23,096 murders in Apr 2025–Mar 2026, which is 37.2 murders per 100,000 people against the Census 2022 population estimate. The count was down 9.1% vs Apr 2024–Mar 2025.
How these rates are calculated: rate = SAPS murders in the financial year (April to March) divided by the Census 2022 population estimate, times 100,000. Populations are the Stats SA Ward-level Small Area Population Estimates 2022 (published November 2025), so rates pair Apr 2025–Mar 2026 counts with 2022 populations. Multi-year rate trends hold the population constant at the 2022 estimate, which makes rates for earlier and later years approximate. Rates are computed at national and province level only; SafeSuburb does not publish per-capita rates for individual precincts, because precinct-level population estimates are not reliable enough to support them.
Which province has the highest murder rate?
Rate per 100,000 people. Bars coloured by the direction of the murder count vs the previous financial year: green = fewer murders, red = more, grey = within 2%.
| Province | Population (Census 2022) | Murders Apr 2025–Mar 2026 | Per 100,000 | Count vs Apr 2024–Mar 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Cape | 7,230,204 | 4,347 | 60.1 | -9.5% |
| Western Cape | 7,433,020 | 4,448 | 59.8 | -0.4% |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 12,423,907 | 4,743 | 38.2 | -14.8% |
| Gauteng | 15,099,423 | 5,631 | 37.3 | -8.3% |
| Free State | 2,964,412 | 794 | 26.8 | -11.3% |
| North West | 3,804,547 | 976 | 25.7 | -11.2% |
| Northern Cape | 1,355,945 | 335 | 24.7 | -10.7% |
| Mpumalanga | 5,143,324 | 1,053 | 20.5 | -15.9% |
| Limpopo | 6,572,721 | 769 | 11.7 | -6.6% |
Is South Africa's murder rate rising or falling?
National murder counts per SAPS financial year (April to March).
| Financial year | Murders | Per 100,000 (2022 population) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 23,096 | 37.2 |
| 2024/25 | 25,421 | 41.0 |
| 2023/24 | 27,419 | 44.2 |
| 2022/23 | 27,289 | 44.0 |
| 2021/22 | 24,889 | 40.1 |
| 2020/21 | 19,835 | 32.0 |
| 2019/20 | 21,327 | 34.4 |
| 2018/19 | 21,005 | 33.9 |
| 2017/18 | 20,323 | 32.8 |
| 2016/17 | 18,998 | 30.6 |
| 2015/16 | 18,657 | 30.1 |
| 2014/15 | 17,795 | 28.7 |
| 2013/14 | 17,019 | 27.4 |
Every rate in this column uses the same Census 2022 population estimate (62,027,503), because matching official population estimates do not exist for each year. Rates for years far from 2022 are therefore approximate: the real population was smaller in earlier years, so true earlier-year rates were somewhat higher than shown.