120 people murdered in the Netherlands in 2024

© ANP / Joey Bremer
There were 120 victims of murder or manslaughter in the Netherlands in 2024: 76 men and 44 women. That was five fewer victims than in 2023 and half as many as at the start of the century. There has been virtually no change in this number over the past decade. More than half of female victims were killed by their partner or ex-partner. This is according to new figures on murder and manslaughter, released annually by Statistics Netherlands (CBS).
Over the past 25 years (2000-2024), an average of 164 people were killed each year in the Netherlands as a result of murder or manslaughter. Over the past ten years, the average number each year was 127.


Fewer men in particular were murdered

The total number of victims of murder and manslaughter has been falling for several years. Between 2000 and 2004, there were 163 male and 74 female victims in the Netherlands. This number fell steadily until 2016, particularly the number of male victims. After a rise in 2017, the number of male victims stabilised at an average of 82 per year, which is half the average in the early 2000s.

The number of women murdered has also fallen, but the fall has been less pronounced than the number of male victims. Over the past ten years, an average of 43 women were killed per year.

During the same period, 73 percent of victims were aged between 20 and 60 years, 10 percent were younger than 20, and the remaining 17 percent were 60 years or older.

More than half of women were killed by their partner or ex-partner

In 97 percent of murder cases involving a female victim in the period 2020-2023, the police identified the perpetrator or a suspect. More than half of these women (52 percent) were murdered by their partner or ex-partner. Among women aged between 20 and 60 years, this was 65 percent. A total of 20 percent of women were killed by a relative. Female victims were often killed in their own homes, usually by stabbing or strangulation.

In 86 percent of cases involving male victims, a perpetrator or suspect was identified by the Netherlands Police. In 32 percent of cases, this was an acquaintance of the victim, and 11 percent of male killings were linked to organised crime. Over 70 percent of men were killed using a firearm or stabbing weapon.

Young victims were most often killed by a parent

Between 2020 and 2024, 30 children under the age of 10 were murdered: 16 boys and 14 girls. Of these, 26 children were killed by their parent.

Most victims were in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague

Half of all murders were committed in municipalities with a population of over 100 thousand. In 2024, the three largest cities in the Netherlands had the most victims: in Amsterdam there were 18 victims, followed by Rotterdam with 11 and The Hague with 8. In 2022 and 2023, Rotterdam had the highest number of murders.

Fewer murders in the Netherlands than in most other countries

Within Europe, the Netherlands is among the countries with the lowest murder rates. In 2023, the countries with the lowest murder rates (measured by the number of murder victims per 100 thousand inhabitants) were Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland. The highest murder rates were in former Soviet states such as Russia, Ukraine and Lithuania. The figures for 2024 are not yet available.

Sources

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