Murder Rate: The Regional Perspective

Two weeks 7newsbelize.com reported that Belize's murder rate for 2010 was 40 murders per one hundred thousand citizens, the highest rate Belize has ever recorded and among the highest in the world.

As of January 12, 2011 it has been reported among the highest in the region for 2010 - in fact it is tied with St. Kitts for the second highest.

Jamaica, with its 1,430 murders has a murder rate of 53 - amongst the highest in the hemisphere - but significantly down from the previous year. There were 260 fewer murders in Jamaica in 2010, a 15% drop.

Belize, on the other hand, registered 35 more murders, a 36% increase and it is now tied with St. Kitts and Nevis for the second highest murder rate in the Caribbean, which is 40 murders per hundred thousand.

Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas round out the top five with murder rates of 36 and 29, respectively.

We have been unable to get the 2010 figures for Central America - but in 2009 Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala were among the highest in the world with murder rates per one hundred thousand reaching into the 50's, 60's and 70's.

Turning back to the Caribbean….notably, Barbados, which has consistently had the lowest murder rate in the region, showed a 63% increase in the number of murders though their murder rate per hundred thousand is still only 11.