Murders of Young People on the Rise; 325,000 Killed in 11 Years

06/06/2018 - 12h09

The number of homicides involving people aged 15 to 29 in Brazil went up by 23% from 2006 to 2016, when it reached the peak of historical data, with 33,590 victims within such age group. The most extreme case was in Rio Grande do Norte, where the number of young people killed rose by 382% over the period. In eight other states, the increase exceeded 100%.

	Felipe Varanda/Folhapress
	This information is included in the Atlas of Violence 2018

According to the data, Brazil buried 324,967 young people murdered in 11 years - this figure is equivalent to the sum, for example, of the populations in the district of Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon and Botafogo, in Rio.

This information is included in the Atlas of Violence 2018, published by the Ipea (Institute of Applied Economic Research) in partnership with the Brazilian Forum of Public Safety, an NGO which brings together experts on the matter.

In view of the upward curve in the number of murders of young people in the country, the homicide rate related to this age group in 2016 represented more than double (65.5 killed per 100,000 inhabitants) the average rate of the Brazilian population (30,3/100,000).

According to the World Health Organization, the global murder rate involving people aged 15 to 29 is 10.4.

This increase is in line with Brazilian regional inequalities and, in 2016, at least six states had homicide rates related to young people higher than 100 cases per 100,000 inhabitants: Sergipe (142.7), Rio Grande do Norte (125.6), Alagoas (122.4), Bahia (114.3), Pernambuco (105.4) and Amapá (101.4).

Translated by ANA BEATRIZ DEMARIA

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