One of every eleven homicides recorded in Mexico last year occurred in Baja California.

The National Institute of Statistics and Geography recorded 35,625 homicides in Mexico in 2021. Of those, 3,246 occurred in Baja California.

The state ranked second in murders in Mexico last year, behind only Guanajuato, where 4,333 cases were recorded.

By comparison, last year Baja California recorded 2,967 homicides, which ranked fourth countrywide.

The figures indicate that between the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, homicides increased 9.4 percent in Baja California.

Last year’s figure is the highest in the last decade in Baja California, the agency explained.

For example, in 2011 the state recorded 809 homicides throughout the year.

The agency detailed that the figures for 2021 are preliminary, since the processes of generating the statistics of recorded deaths have not yet been completed.

The agency added that last year Baja California recorded a rate of 86 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants — the second highest after the State of Zacatecas with 109.

In homicides, Baja California surpassed more populous states such as Oaxaca, Michoacán, Nuevo León, Jalisco, Veracruz and Puebla.

The Institute added that in all of Mexico the homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants was 28, a third of Baja California’s.

According to the report, homicide figures were taken from various state and municipal agencies and information from the Secretaries of Health and Forensic Medical Services, as well as the Civil Recorder offices.

Last year, at the national level, 50 homicides of men were reported for every 100,000 men, while only 6 murders of women for every 100,000 females.

The Institute points out that, despite the fact that there has been a slight increase in the homicide rate of women, since 2007 the figure has remained relatively stable since 1990.

In the case of men, the rate increased between 2007 and 2011, and then decreased until 2014, when it recorded a new increase during the following three years. Since 2018, the homicide rate per 100,000 men has reported a slight decrease.