Global Distribution of Femicide Victims in 2024: Africa Remains Highest

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, or UN Women, estimates that in 2024, 50,000 women will be victims of killings by their partners or family members.

These killings of women and girls are rooted in gender issues, also known as femicide. This includes ideologies of male rights and privilege over women, social norms about masculinity, and the assertion of male control or power.

UN Women calculated this estimate with an uncertainty interval ranging from 44,400 to 55,500 victims. The total estimate for 2024 has decreased from 2023, which reached 51,100 victims.

"This change does not represent a real decrease, as it is mainly due to differences in data availability at the country level," UN Women wrote in its report Femicides in 2024: Global estimates of intimate partner/family member femicides.

UN Women explained that the 2024 figures indicate that 60% of the approximately 83,000 women and girls intentionally killed that year were victims of killings by intimate partners or other family members, such as fathers, uncles, mothers, and brothers.

The highest aggregate number of femicide victims in 2024 was recorded in Africa, with 22,600 victims and an uncertainty interval of 19,300-25,800 victims.

"Africa continues to record the highest aggregate number of victims, although regional estimates need to be interpreted with caution due to significant levels of uncertainty resulting from ongoing data limitations," UN Women stated.

Africa is followed by Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania.

Here is the complete list of total estimates and uncertainty intervals for femicide victims worldwide in 2024:

Africa: 22,600 victims

Uncertainty interval: 19,300-25,800 victims

Asia: 17,400 victims

Uncertainty interval: 15,300-19,500

Americas: 7,700 victims

Uncertainty interval: 7,600-7,800

Europe: 2,100 victims

Uncertainty interval: 2,000-2,200

Oceania: 300 victims

Uncertainty interval: 260-380 victims.