Male homicide rate up in 2021

Twelve of the 126 homicide victims in 2021 were non-residents of the Netherlands. The number of homicide deaths has been stable since 2018 with 123 victims per year on average. Between 2002 and 2004, an average of 231 people per year fell victim to murder or manslaughter in the Netherlands.

Homicide victims include fewer young women but more men over 40

Compared to 2020, the number of female homicide victims under the age of 40 declined last year. The number of male victims over 40, on the other hand, increased: from 36 in 2020 to 47 in 2021. In 2021, altogether 70 percent of homicide victims were between the ages of 20 and 60. Almost 4 in 10 victims were in their twenties or thirties.

More killings in the largest cities

A third of all murder and manslaughter cases in 2021 took place in the three largest cities of the Netherlands: 15 in Amsterdam, 15 in Rotterdam and 11 in The Hague.

The major cities, led by Rotterdam, have also had relatively the highest homicide rates. In the period 2017 to 2021 inclusive, Rotterdam had a homicide death rate of 1.92 per 100 thousand residents. This is 2.6 times the national average, which stands at 0.75 per 100 thousand residents. In The Hague and Amsterdam, the rates stood at 1.81 and 1.71 victims per 100 thousand residents, respectively.

Female victims often killed by (ex-)partner

In 96 percent of homicide cases among women in the period 2017-2021, the police had identified a suspect perpetrator . In this period, the alleged perpetrator was the partner or ex-partner in nearly six out of ten cases where the victim was female. Most were killed in their own homes with a stabbing weapon, by strangulation or another form of physical assault.

The perpetrator was identified in 83 percent of the male homicide cases over the period 2017-2021. The (alleged) perpetrator was an acquaintance or friend of the victim in 30 percent of the cases. Fourteen percent involved a killing which was linked to organised crime (payback cases) . Three-quarters of male victims were killed with a firearm or stabbing weapon.

Young victims mostly killed by parent

In the period 2017-2021, a total of 31 children under the age of 10 were killed, including 16 boys and 15 girls. Almost all of these children were killed by a parent (28). In the same period, 42 teenagers (aged 10 to 19) were murdered, 14 percent of whom were killed by a parent and 38 percent by an acquaintance or friend.

Internationally, the Netherlands has few homicide cases

Across Europe, the Netherlands ranks among the top five of countries with relatively the lowest homicide rates. Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland have the lowest rates. Relatively the highest rates are seen in former Soviet Union countries, such as Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Lithuania.