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Recently, an often-shared tweet claimed:

With Mexico being one of the highest crime Nations in the world, we must have THE WALL. Mexico will pay for it through reimbursement/other.

I have a bit of doubt about this, as I was only able to find this crime index, which puts Mexico well in the center, not too far apart from the US:

1   Venezuela   82.42   
[...]
32  Mexico  50.64 
[...]   
44  United States   48.50   
[...]
110     Singapore   16.90

However, I am not sure how credible these numbers are, and I was unable to find further information about general crime rates (most statistics seem to focus on a specific sort of crime).

Are there any statistics that show that Mexico has one of the highest crime rates in the world?

tim
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  • Maybe the reference is to this ... https://i.stack.imgur.com/wDzvK.jpg I cannot check IISS, since it requires a subscription – GEdgar Aug 28 '17 at 17:06
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    Depends. What counts as a crime? ([arson?, murder?, jaywalking?](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArsonMurderAndJaywalking)) How do you measure the "height" of a crime? (number of incidents reported? number of persons convicted? number of victims affected? monetary value of property stolen or destroyed?) And finally, how high must a nation be ranked to be counted as "one of the highest?" – Solomon Slow Aug 28 '17 at 17:12
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    It's hard to compare real crime rates from different countries. Not all countries report in the same way, if they report at all. –  Aug 28 '17 at 19:33
  • https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/06/murder-map-latin-america-leads-world-key-cities-buck-deadly-trend has a nice map – Fizz Nov 30 '17 at 12:33

1 Answers1

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For overall crime, Mexico does not have the highest crime rate. For intentional homicide rate specifically, which may be what the claim is most concerned about, Mexico is number 23, according to UNODC data. The migration push to the relative safety of the USA is not only coming from Mexico though, but also from other countries in Central America, with much higher homicide rates. In fact, the numbers 1 and 2 are just “behind” Mexico from a US perspective, and undocumented migrants from those Central American countries will enter through Mexico.

Some Central American countries with very high homicide rates (overall ranking by homicides per 100,000 inhabitats; also showing Mexico for comparison and because it's the transit country):

1. El Salvador, 108.64
2. Honduras, 63.75
7. Belize, 34.40
10. Guatamala, 31.21
23. Mexico, 16.35

Those homicide rates are in fact one of the main causes of the push for migration, which is in turn increased by mass deportations.

So, yes, violent crime in Mexico is very high, but overall not as high as in El Salvador or Honduras. The OP probably does not mean to imply that a wall or deportations will reduce those crime rates, and it may in fact do the opposite. Whether a wall or deportations would have any effect on crime rates, either inside or outside the USA, is interesting and relevant but beyond the scope of this question.

gerrit
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    Nice point about Central America; it's a popular trope that the average U.S. citizen thinks that anybody south of the border is Mexican. – Jordy Aug 28 '17 at 10:12
  • Thanks. I would still be very interested in general crime rate statistics (my source doesn't seem reliable), but this certainly sounds like it would explain the statement (although it's not too satisfactory, considering the loose definition of "Mexico" = "South America" and "crime" = "homicide" (which also != "violent crime"); on the other hand, "being in the top 10%" = "one of the highest" isn't too far-fetched). Regarding your last sentence: I don't think the person is interested in reducing crime rates in Mexico. – tim Aug 28 '17 at 10:22
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    @tim Reducing the crime rates in Mexico and Central America would be essential to bring down migration, but I agree that this is probably not the message Trump is trying to convey; I'm aware he intends to imply that people won't enter if you build a wall, which probably doesn't work, but that is beyond the scope of this question. – gerrit Aug 28 '17 at 10:28
  • Ironically, Mexico's rate on that chart is much closer to Russia's (11.3). I understand their rates of corruption, population, and GDP are quite similar too. – T.E.D. Aug 28 '17 at 15:56
  • @T.E.D. I don't quite understand why that is ironic in this context. – gerrit Aug 28 '17 at 15:58
  • @gerrit - I guess you didn't see the source of the tweet then. – T.E.D. Aug 28 '17 at 16:02
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    @T.E.D. So.. a wall across the Bering strait? – Spehro Pefhany Aug 28 '17 at 16:04
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    *"...the implicit claim that a wall or deportations will reduce those crime rates...."* — This is a peculiar interpretation and not *at all* implicit in the tweet. This is your inference; it is not implied whatsoever. Hence it appears to be a "strawman" you are setting up to debunk. – Wildcard Aug 29 '17 at 00:45
  • @Wildcard I'm mentioning both crime rates outside and inside the USA. However, I have reformulated the relevant paragraph to formulate this less strongly. – gerrit Aug 29 '17 at 08:39
  • @gerrit: Is the crime rate in Central America (or Mexico) really a major driver of immigration? I think most people come here primarily to make money, not to escape places with high crime rates. – jamesqf Aug 29 '17 at 18:24
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    @jamesqf From context I assume that by "here" you mean USA. For the large wave of unaccompanied minors some years ago, yes, crime rate in Central America is a major push factor. For broader undocumented migration to the USA, I don't know, good question (but out of scope here). – gerrit Aug 29 '17 at 18:29
  • Mexico is in North America – blarg Aug 30 '17 at 11:25
  • @blarg True, and I see my answer was unintentionally implying otherwise. Reformulated. – gerrit Aug 30 '17 at 12:02
  • Is that because they aren't more criminal, overall, or because all the rapist and murderers (also known as "Mexicans" to the current President) are sneaking across the currently Wall-free border and inflating the US crime statistics, as well as voting for Democrats? Please note - actual facts and logic are not desired. – PoloHoleSet Aug 30 '17 at 16:53
  • @PoloHoleSet I'm not sure what you are trying to say. Do you mean emigration of Mexican criminals to the USA is making Mexican crime rates lower? Is your comment satirical? – gerrit Aug 30 '17 at 16:56
  • @gerrit - yes. Heavy, heavy snark on the fact that statistics do not match the claims, and the expected denial if that is pointed out. – PoloHoleSet Aug 30 '17 at 16:57