Life expectancy

The Probability of Becoming a Homicide Victim

 Each year in the US there are about 5 homicides per 100000 people, so the probability of falling victim to a homicide in a given year is 0.00005 or 1 in 20000. What are the chances of falling victim to a homicide over a lifespan of 70 years?

 Let’s approach this the other way around. The chance of not becoming a homicide victim during one year is p = 0.99995. Using the multiplication rule we can calculate the probability of this event occurring 70 times in a row:

 p = 0.99995 · … · 0.99995 = 0.9999570

 Thus the odds of not becoming a homicide victim over the course of 70 years are 0.9965. This of course also means that there’s a 1 – 0.9965 = 0.0035, or 1 in 285, chance of falling victim to a homicide during a life span. In other words: two victims in every jumbo jet full of people. How does this compare to other countries?

 In Germany, the homicide rate is about 0.8 per 100000 people. Doing the same calculation gives us a 1 in 1800 chance of becoming a murder victim, so statistically speaking there’s one victim per small city. At the other end of the scale is Honduras with 92 homicides per 100000 people, which translates into a saddening 1 in 16 chance of becoming a homicide victim over the course of a life and is basically one victim in every family.

 It can get even worse if you live in a particularly crime ridden part of a country. The homicide rate for the city San Pedro Sula in Honduras is about 160 per 100000 people. If this remained constant over time and you never left the city, you’d have a 1 in 9 chance of having your life cut short in a homicide.

Liked the excerpt? Get the book “Statistical Snacks” by Metin Bektas here: For more excerpts check out Missile Accuracy (CEP), Immigrants and Crime and Monkeys on Typewriters.