Mexico’s Murder Rate Jumps by a Third to Record-Breaking 33,341 in 2018

Mexican police stand near a skull discovered in a large grave in the desert of victims of recent drug violence in the county of Juarez, Mexico on March 19, 2010. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Mexico’s homicide rate has jumped by a third in the last year, pushing it up into the top dozen most murderous countries in the world, with four people killed every hour.

It is the second year in a row that the homicide rate has broken previous records. Information from the Interior Ministry listed 33,341 murder cases last year, compared to 25,036 in 2017.