Iceland has averaged 2.8 homicides a year since 2010

Iceland has recorded 48 homicide cases since 2010, an average of 2.8 a year, according to mbl.is. The latest case, the third in Iceland this year, involved a man in his 30s who was stabbed during an altercation in Breiðholt over the weekend.

A father and son have been remanded in custody until 9 November in connection with the case. A third person was released without a custody request. Police are investigating, including by examining footage from a nearby convenience store’s security camera.

Margrét Valdimarsdóttir, a criminologist and associate professor at the University of Iceland, said homicide rates have fluctuated sharply over time. She said rapid population growth and the country’s increasingly diverse population may be relevant, and that some homicides appear to be connected to organised crime. She also noted that organised crime has become more common in Iceland, according to reports by the National Police Commissioner’s analysis department.

Margrét said organised crime and social and economic inequality are two key factors behind high homicide rates internationally. She added that serious assaults are also important to monitor, since their consequences can depend on how quickly victims receive medical care.

She said crime rates were historically low in the years after the financial crash but have risen substantially over the past decade and are now higher than they were 20 years ago. Iceland recorded five homicides in 2000. The homicide rate that year was 1.79 per 100,000 people, compared with 2.08 in 2024, a record. Other high-rate years included 2002, at 1.4, and 2023, at 1.33. The rate in 2025 was 1.03.

Margrét said Iceland once had one of the world’s lowest homicide rates but has moved up international rankings in recent years. It is now just below the midpoint among European countries ranked by homicide rate.