More women killed in Netherlands last year; Rotterdam new murder capital

Last year, 142 people died in the Netherlands due to murder or manslaughter, 16 more than in 2021. The number of women killed increased more than the number of male victims. And for the first time since 2008, Rotterdam and not Amsterdam had the most violent deaths, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported.

The number of female murder victims increased by 10 to 48, and the number of male victims rose by six to 94. Women are most likely to be killed by their partner or ex. Between 2018 and 2022, the partner or ex was the suspect in 60 percent of femicide cases. One in five women were killed by another family member. Female victims are often stabbed or strangled to death in their own homes.

With men, the perpetrator was someone the victim knew in 33 percent of the cases. Twelve percent of male murders involved settlements in the criminal world. Three-quarters of the male victims were shot or stabbed to death.

Between 2018 and 2022, 32 children under the age of 10 were murdered in the Netherlands, 17 boys and 15 girls. Almost all of these kids (88 percent) were killed by one of their parents. In the same period, 41 kids and teenagers between the ages of 10 and 20 were murdered.

Last year, Rotterdam was the municipality with the most murder or manslaughter cases at 16, dethroning Amsterdam (10) for the first time since 2008. Last year, Rotterdam had one more murder victim than in 2021, Amsterdam had five fewer. In The Hague, the number of victims decreased from 11 in 2021 to three last year. Half of the murders committed last year happened in municipalities with more than 100,000 residents.

Internationally, the Netherlands has relatively few murders. In Europe, former members of the Soviet Union, like Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, and Moldavia, had the most murders based on their population size last year. Globally, Jamaica had the most murders at 53 per 100,000 residents - 80 times higher than in the Netherlands. South Africa, Honduras, Saint Lucia, and Mexico also had many murders.