Between 2014 and 2023, 51 wilful homicides (events) were registered by the Malta Police Force. A total of 57 persons were victims of these incidents, the National Statistics Office said today.

“It is important to note that data on victims is based on the date of death or discovery, and the terms ‘wilful homicide’ and ‘homicide’ are used interchangeably,” the NSO said.

According to the data, 7.0% of victims were murdered in the district of Gozo and Comino, 2 males and 2 females.

During this period, the years that saw the least number of homicides were 2021 and 2023 with 2 homicides occurring during each reference year. The NSO noted that in contrast, the year which saw the highest annual incidence of homicides was 2017 with 9 occurrences during that year.

Two thirds of the victims during the 10-year period were males (38) or 66.7%, and a third were females (19). Almost half of all victims were aged between 25 and 44 (49.1%), while 19.3% were between 45 and 59 years of age.

During the period under review, two-thirds of the victims were Maltese, while a third were of foreign citizenship.

The highest homicide rate during the 10 years under review was observed in the Southern Harbour district with a rate of 1.6 per 100,000 persons of the respective district, while the lowest homicide rate was observed in the Western district with a rate of 0.8 homicides per 100,000 persons.

The NSO s aid that 45.6% of victims were killed with weapons such as sharp objects, blunt objects or another object used as a weapon (excluding firearms or explosives).

When looking at victims of wilful homicide during the 2014-2023 period, the SO noted that 42.1% of males were allegedly killed by a person known to victim, excluding intimate partners or family members.

5.3% of male victims were allegedly killed by an intimate partner or a family member, one in every five by a person who was not known to the victim, and almost one-third by an unknown perpetrator/s.

Regarding female victims of wilful homicide throughout the same period, the NSO said that close to half (47.4%) were allegedly killed by an intimate partner and just over one-fifth by a family member.

10.5% allegedly died at the hands of someone whom the victim knew, excluding intimate partners or family members, and 15.8 per cent by a person not known to the victim. The percentage of females allegedly killed by an unknown perpetrator/s stood at 5.3%.

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