Does e.u. have lower crime than u.s
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Executive summary
Available data and multiple cross-country studies show the United States has substantially higher homicide and many violent‑crime rates than the European Union and most Western European countries; for example, a past U.S. homicide rate of about 10.5–7.9 per 100,000 compared with Europe’s under 2 per 100,000 in one historical comparison [1], and a 2019 analysis showing firearm homicides in the U.S. roughly 22 times the EU rate [2]. Comparability caveats matter: differences in legal definitions, reporting, and measurement across countries make direct comparisons imprecise [3].
1. How big is the gap on homicide and violent crime?
Multiple sources report a clear gap: an Office of Justice Programs review of 1980–84 data found U.S. homicide, rape and robbery rates “several times higher” than reporting European countries, with U.S. homicide cited at roughly 10.5–7.9 per 100,000 versus Europe’s less than 2 per 100,000 in that study [1]. More recent work flagged that in 2019 the U.S. overall homicide rate was about 5.6 per 100,000 compared with about 0.9 in the EU, and firearm homicides alone were about 22 times larger in the U.S. [2]. Visualizations using UNODC and national data show the U.S. trend line for homicide sits above most European averages across 2000–2020 [4].
2. Not all crimes follow the same pattern — nuance matters
Violent crime is a bundle of offenses and not every category shows the same U.S.–Europe gap. Reviews and comparative indexes note robbery, theft and auto‑theft differences: the U.S. historically had robbery rates roughly four times Europe’s and theft/auto‑theft about twice as high in some comparisons [1]. WorldPopulationReview and other aggregators also indicate many European countries report very low violent‑crime rates, but they warn that definitions (for example, what counts as rape) and reporting practices change apparent rankings [5].
3. Why comparisons are hard: measurement and legal differences
Researchers stress that international crime comparisons are affected by victims’ willingness to report, legal definitions, and national counting rules. The European Journal of Law and Economics and other scholars underline that homicide and general crime follow similar patterns in the U.S. but not always across Europe because “official crime rates per 100,000 population differ enormously between countries” for legal and statistical reasons [3]. That means headline ratios can overstate or understate real differences when based on inconsistent data sources [3].
4. Recent headline claims — verification and context
A 2022/2019 IHME‑based comparison used by fact‑checkers and reporters concluded that firearm homicides in the U.S. were about 22 times the EU rate and that the U.S. overall homicide rate was roughly six times higher than the EU’s 0.9 figure — claims fact‑checked as “essentially correct” when tied to those datasets and years [2]. Such figures depend on the chosen year, which countries are included in “Europe” or the “EU,” and whether the metric is all homicides or firearm homicides specifically [2].
5. Geographic and temporal variation within regions
Both the U.S. and Europe contain wide internal variation. Visual Capitalist and national reports show U.S. cities vary dramatically — some cities have homicide rates far above the national average — while European countries range from very low homicide rates in much of Western Europe to higher levels in parts of Eastern Europe and elsewhere [4] [6]. Aggregate Europe or EU averages can obscure these internal differences [4] [6].
6. What this means for interpreting “safer” or “lower crime” claims
The weight of available reporting indicates the U.S. experiences higher homicide and many violent‑crime rates than the EU average, and firearm homicides are markedly higher in the U.S. [1] [2]. However, reliable interpretation requires attention to which crimes, which countries, which years, and definitional/reporting differences [3]. Blanket statements that “Europe has lower crime” can be true for homicides and several violent categories but risk oversimplifying when applied to all offenses or all European countries [1] [3].
Limitations and next steps: available sources do not mention a single, definitive contemporary dataset that harmonizes every crime category across every EU member state and the U.S. for 2023–2025; readers should consult UNODC, Eurostat and national criminal‑justice reports for the precise metrics and years behind any headline ratio [3] [4].