With a few days left in 2025, the Netherlands has recorded fewer than 100 victims of murder or manslaughter this year, according to an early count based on police information and a running overview linked to Leiden University’s Dutch Homicide Monitor. The provisional total stands at 98 victims across 94 cases.
What the 98 figure means
This number is not a final official statistic. It is a year-end “current snapshot” based on cases known to police so far, and it can still change. A death may be reclassified after more investigation, a missing person case may later turn out to be a homicide, or a victim may be found after the end of the year.
The term used in these early counts usually includes both murder and manslaughter. That means it covers cases where someone was killed intentionally, but it can include different legal situations, such as killings during conflict, domestic violence, or other violent incidents.
A big drop compared with recent years
Even with the “preliminary” warning, the change is notable. The same reporting described 2024 as a far higher year, with 133 victims of violent crime deaths investigated by police, and 2023 as 128.
For longer-term context, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported 120 murder and manslaughter victims for 2024 in its annual figures published earlier in 2025. CBS data is not the same as year-end police snapshots, but it shows the broader picture: homicide numbers are much lower than they were in the early 2000s.
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Amsterdam still tops the list
Amsterdam again recorded the highest number of homicide victims among Dutch cities this year: 10. That is about half of last year’s reported total in the capital, which was around 20. Rotterdam and The Hague were next, with five each in the reporting, and Noord-Brabant was mentioned as another province with a relatively high total.
This does not mean Amsterdam is uniquely unsafe in everyday life. The absolute numbers are small when spread across a full year and a large population, but the city still ends up at the top of the list because it is the largest and has many high-risk settings where conflicts can escalate.
Who were the victims and suspects
The early breakdown reported 63 male victims and 35 female victims. Among the women killed, at least 16 cases were described as femicide, meaning the suspect was a current or former partner or a stalker. The reporting also noted that most victims were adults, but there were also teenagers and children among the dead.
Police suspected a male perpetrator in most cases, and suspects ranged widely in age, including minors and elderly suspects. Many cases involve people who were already vulnerable in some way, such as those dealing with addiction, mental health problems, or social isolation.
What seems to be driving the decline
Researchers cautioned against reading too much into one year, but they also pointed to the long downward trend since the 1990s and early 2000s. CBS data similarly shows that the Netherlands’ homicide levels have roughly halved compared with the start of the century.
At the same time, the reporting suggests the nature of homicide is not only about organized crime. Only a small number of cases this year were described as “contract-style” killings, while many others happened within a victim’s own social circle, including relationship and family situations.
