Netherlands murder rate at 20 year low

A total of 120 people were murdered or killed by manslaughter in the Netherlands in 2015, the lowest number in 20 years. 77 of the victims were men and 43 were women, according to figures Statistics Netherlands released on Friday.

Women are most often killed by a partner or ex. Between 2011 and 2015 this was happened in more than half of the cases. For men, a friend or acquaintance is often the culprit. Most of the men who were murdered in this period were between the ages of 20 and 50 years. Among murdered women, a relatively high number were in their 60's.

In 70 percent of murdered men cases between 2011 and 2015, the police identified a perpetrator. Men were mostly shot or stabbed to death and mostly in their own home or on the street. Among female murder victims, 75 percent of the killings happened in their own home. Women were most often stabbed or strangulated to death.

Most of last year's murders were committed in the Netherlands' two largest cities - 13 in Amsterdam and 12 in Rotterdam.

Proportionally, more people of an ethnic minority die by murder or manslaughter in the Netherlands than Dutch people. Antillean men are 14 times more likely to be the victim of murder or manslaughter than native Dutch.