Clara Zepeda
La Jornada Newspaper
Thursday, January 22, 2026, p. 3
In Mexico, 14,488 homicides were committed during the first half of 2025, which represented a decrease of 11.15 percent compared to the same period in 2024 (16,306). Likewise, three out of every four deaths were due to shooting with firearms, revealed the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi).
The organization, which released the preliminary figures of the homicide statistics recorded nationwide in the first half of 2025, specified that the number of murders in the first half of 2025 was the lowest since 2016, when 10,963 fatal attacks were definitively reported in the first six months of that year.
Based on death certificates signed by doctors, 80 homicides were reported daily on average during that period.
In order to facilitate comparison with previous years, the institute presented the historical series of the definitive statistics of alleged homicides from the first semesters of 1990 to 2024. Although that of 2025 is still preliminary, an estimate can be made of the behavior of this crime in the country.
Thus, this statistic shows a drop of 19.76 percent (equivalent to 3,569 fewer homicides) compared to 2020, the year in which the highest number of deaths from this cause was reported since Inegi began keeping records (1990).
From January to June 2025, a rate of 11.1 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants was recorded on a national scale, preliminarily. This rate was lower than that registered for the same period in 2024, which was 12.6 cases.
The main means used to cause death was shooting with a firearm (71.9 percent). Sharp weapons were in second position (8.8 percent).
According to information from Inegi, the victims of 88 percent of the homicides perpetrated in the first half of last year were men (12,781), while 1,542 were women and in 165 cases the sex of those affected was not specified. Male homicides decreased from the maximum number reported in 2020 (15,982 events).
In the case of men, in the first half of 2025, the rate was 20.1 homicides per 100 thousand inhabitants. When comparing these data with the definitive information for the same period in 2024, a decrease of 2.5 was observed compared to the definitive information, which in that year was 22.6 cases.
For women, the rate was 2.3 alleged homicides per 100 thousand in the first half of 2025. This rate was lower than that registered with the definitive information for the same period of 2024, which was 2.8 registered crimes.
