Fewer murders, lowest number of men murdered in 30 years

There were 103 victims of murder or manslaughter in the Netherlands in 2025. That was 17 fewer than in 2024 and the lowest number since these crimes were first recorded. Among the victims were 65 men and 38 women: 11 fewer male victims and 6 fewer female victims than in 2024. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of newly released figures on murder and manslaughter.
Over the past 5 years, an average of 123 people were killed each year in the Netherlands as a result of murder or manslaughter. The number has fallen over the past thirty years. In 1996, there were 240 victims, in 2006 the number was 159, and in 2016 there were 108 victims. This decline has been seen in both the number of male and female victims, but it was more pronounced among men.

Cases involving a female victim were often killed by their partner or ex-partner

In 96 percent of murder cases involving a female victim in the period 2021-2025, the police have identified the perpetrator or a suspect. In half of these cases, this was their partner or ex-partner. This picture has not changed over the past fifteen years. The figure was 63 percent among women aged between 20 and 60 years old. A total of 18 percent of female victims were killed by a relative, 16 percent by an acquaintance, and 9 percent by a stranger.

In 86 percent of cases involving male victims, a perpetrator or suspect was identified by the police. In almost 30 percent of the cases, the suspect or perpetrator was an acquaintance of the victim. 11 percent of cases involving male victims were linked to organised crime.

Parent was the perpetrator in most cases involving young children

Between 2021 and 2026, 24 children under the age of 10 were murdered: 13 boys and 11 girls. Twenty of these children were killed (or presumed to have been killed) by their own father or mother. Most victims of murder and manslaughter among both men and women were aged between 20 and 40.

Most victims in Rotterdam

Over the past five years, the highest number of victims of murder or manslaughter were recorded in Rotterdam (65) and Amsterdam (62). In The Hague, there were 36 victims during the same period, and 12 in Utrecht. The highest number of victims were recorded in the provinces of Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland, and the lowest in Friesland.