By Steve Thomas
Observer Nevis Editor
(Charlestown, Nevis) Ð A review of international statistics by The Observer indicates the Federation of St. Kitts-Nevis is moving into the top ranks of a category that few nations aspire to: murders per capita.
According to numbers compiled by the Observer, the Federation has a projected rate of 51.53 murders per 100,000 people.
The U.S. State Department lists the population of the Federation at 42,696.
Here is how the number of murder per capita rate is determined according to Robert Niles, who writes a Web site, “Statistics Help For Journalists:”
“Simply divide the number of murders by the total population of the city (country). To keep from using a tiny little decimal, statisticians usually multiply the result by 100,000 and give the result as the number of murders per 100,000 people.”
The year is almost half over and 11 homicides have been recorded so far. If this rate continues, the Federation could have 22 murders at the end of this year.
The formula we used looked like this: (22/42,696) x 100,000 = 51.53.
According to Wikipedia.com, the top 20 countries with the highest per capita murder rate are:
El Salvador 55.3
Venezuela 49
Jamaica 49
Guatemala 45.2
Honduras 42.91
South Africa 40.5
Colombia 37.3
Belize 30.8
Trinidad and Tobago 30.38
Brazil 27
Ecuador 18.33
Russia 16.5
Swaziland 13.63
Mexico 13.04
Mongolia 12.81
Paraguay 12.05
Haiti 11.5
Suriname 10.30
Panama 9.56
Argentina 9.47
Wikipedia cites a large number of sources for the article. The list does not include St. Kitts-Nevis.
However, if the Observer’s calculations are correct, the Federation would be ranked No. 2 and knock Argentina out of the top 20.
The rate and rank for other nations of interest include:
United States 5.7 (rank, 43)
United Kingdom 2.03 (rank, 74)
Canada 1.85 (rank, 75)
(Dr. Everson Hull contributed to this report.)
