Albania is reported to have had the highest killings in Europe, with the exception of the former Soviet Union countries for the period 2012-2016. Data have been published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, in the report "The Global Survey on Assassinations, 2019", published recently.
For the period studied, Albania had nearly 4 killings per 100 thousand inhabitants, from 6.1 which is the world average and the 3 is the average for Europe. The highest level of killing than Albania is only Estonia, Moldova, Ukraine, Lithuania, and the record is held by the Russian Federation, with more than 11 killing per 100 thousand inhabitants. The lowest level of murders is in Luxembourg, Ireland, Norway, Austria, Spain, the Netherlands, etc. (with less than 1 murder per 100 thousand inhabitants). In the region, alongside Albania, there is a high level of murders in Montenegro.
In Albania, killings are higher than they are predicted to have been taking into account socioeconomic indicators based on which at least half should be. Our country shows the highest differences between the level of killing that should have been based on democratic social expectations (2) and what is happening in reality (4) along with Belarus.
Albania ranks in the Balkans, along with Montenegro, and Macedonia, as one of the countries with high use of firearms in murder, with over 60% of them.
In another indicator, our country is ranked first in Europe for female killings by intimate partners, with 0.7 killing per 100 thousand inhabitants, out of 1 killing per 100 thousand inhabitants in total. So, 70% of women's murders in Albania are made by the men they have linked to, or are in intimate relationships. The second country in Europe, where men kill most women, is Ireland (0.7) and Croatia (0.5).
Men stick more on the internet, lowering the killings
The report notes that in general, in the world, murder rates are falling, but not as fast as achieving meaningful targets based on Sustainable Development Goals. The danger is entirely that a violent death occurs as a result of the deliberate murder that has fallen. In 2017, there were 6.1 casualties per 100,000 people, compared to 7.4 in 1993.
Experts have been trying to explain the downward tendency of homicides occurring throughout the Western world - first in North America, a little later in Western Europe. The last drop is the continuation of the centuries-old relief of violence that can be attributed to better governance and rule of law, promoting self-control and cultural change to a higher level of citizenship. Other experts have developed an approach to the theory of opportunities, suggesting that killing in these sub-regions has fallen as a result of a change in the lifestyle of young people coming from the development of the Internet. Access to computers causes young men - both potential perpetrators and potential victims - to spend more time at home and less time in public, resulting in a lower chance of engagement in face to face conflict , including murder.
In the world, the highest level of killing is in South America, with 17.2 killing per 100,000 people, followed by Africa (13), Asia (2.3), Europe (3), Oceania (2.8).
In the world, more murders take place in Venezuela (58 murders per 100 thousand inhabitants), Salvator (66), Honduras (68).
Source: Monitor
