Crime in Costa Rica – Murders In 2009

According to the most recent Informe sobre Desarrollo Humano para América Central 2009-2010 the number of murders (homicidios) in Costa Rica has increased.

Our neighbour Panama has a murder rate which is 72% higher than Costa Rica and thankfully Costa Rica’s remains the lowest in all of Central America.

Murders (homicidios) have increased most severely in Guatemala where the rate has soared from 28-47 per 100,000 people. Belize has increased from 19-33, while Panama has increased from 10-19 and Costa Rica has increased from 6-11.

According to Southern Pulse, there were 498 homicides in Honduras just in the one month of October 2009, bringing the total so far this year to 4,214, an average of 421 victims monthly and 14 victims daily.

The highest murder rate in Costa Rica is in Límon on the Caribbean coast where, according to the study the rate for 2008 rose to 25.1.

The murder rate in the capital city San Jose – which is where I live – rose to 14.9 in 2008 however, very few expats choose to live in Límon or San Jose and, none that I know of would choose to live anywhere near the areas with the highest murder rates.

For the period from January to June 2009 Costa Rica registered a total of 225 murders and according to the CIA’s Country Report on Costa Rica the estimated July 2009 population for Costa Rica is 4,253,877 which means the murder rate for the year 2009 is likely to be very similar to 2008 – around 11 per 100,000 people..

The answer, according to the Deaths of U.S. Citizens Abroad statistics compiled by the US Department of State is one person.

Remembering that San Jose’s murder rate for 2008 was 14.9 let’s take a look at this in comparison with some other cities we may be more familiar with:

We should remember that there are many cities in the US that have far lower murder rates than San Jose, Costa Rica just as we should also remember that the majority of other towns in Costa Rica have far lower crime rates and zero murders.

Our thanks to our friends at La Nación – Costa Rica’s largest Spanish circulation newspaper for their permission to include their photos…

Written by Scott Oliver, author of 1. Costa Rica Real Estate Scams & How To Avoid Them, 2. How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa, 3. Costa Rica’s Guide To Making Money Offshore and the Director of Costa Rica Living & Retirement – Secrets To Happiness, a new DVD which reveals all with 14 in depth interviews…

[custom_script adID=97]

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.