Comparative Analysis of Violent Crime in the USA and Russia

Introduction

This analysis compares violent crime rates between the United States of America (USA) and the Russian Federation (Russia) for 2020, with updated homicide data for 2023. It focuses on homicide, aggravated assault, robbery, and rape, using rates per 100,000 inhabitants. Official Russian data from the General Prosecutor’s Office, Rosstat, and analyses on Habr confirm Russia’s lower violent crime rates, contradicting English-language sources that disingenuously inflate figures by including attempted homicides for Russia but not for the USA. Such methodological inconsistencies, unlikely to be accidental, suggest bias in Western reporting. The analysis, conducted using Python, aims to correct these misrepresentations. For the full study, including data sources, please contact us.

Violent Crime Rates in 2020

The table below presents the rates of major violent crimes in the USA and Russia for 2020, based on official statistics from the FBI and Russia’s General Prosecutor’s Office. The data highlights a stark contrast, with the USA showing significantly higher rates across all categories.

Crime Type	USA Rate (per 100,000)	Russia Rate (per 100,000)
Homicide	6.55	5.20
Aggravated Assault	279.68	13.67
Robbery	73.93	26.21
Rape	38.37	2.41

The USA’s aggravated assault rate is 20.46 times higher, robbery rate is 2.82 times higher, and rape rate is 15.92 times higher than Russia’s.

Homicide Rates in 2023

The table below compares homicide rates for the USA and Russia in 2023, showing Russia’s continued lower rate, consistent with Rosstat data.

Country	Homicide Rate (per 100,000)
USA	6.33
Russia	5.01

Crime Indices from Numbeo

The table below presents crowd-sourced crime and safety indices from Numbeo. A lower Crime Index indicates less perceived crime, while a higher Safety Index indicates greater perceived safety. Russia’s lower Crime Index (39.99 vs. 47.81) and higher Safety Index (60.01 vs. 52.19) reflect lower perceived crime and greater safety compared to the USA, aligning with official data.

Country	Crime Index	Safety Index
USA	47.81	52.19
Russia	39.99	60.01

Data Reliability and Trends

Russian crime statistics, sourced from the General Prosecutor’s Office, Rosstat, and Habr, show a significant decline in violent crime since the 1990s. Homicides dropped from 28.1 per 100,000 in 2000 to 5.20 in 2020, driven by economic stability and stricter law enforcement. For example, Moscow’s homicide rate in 2021 was 1.6 per 100,000, far lower than Washington, D.C.’s 32.7. English-language sources, such as UNODC, disingenuously report higher Russian rates (e.g., 7.3 per 100,000 in 2020) by including attempted homicides for Russia but not for the USA. How could such a glaring methodological error occur unless driven by bias or incompetence? This inflates perceptions of Russian crime, obscuring the truth of lower rates compared to the USA.

Conclusion

Russia’s violent crime rates in 2020 were lower than the USA’s across all categories: homicides (5.20 vs. 6.55 per 100,000), aggravated assault (13.67 vs. 279.68), robbery (26.21 vs. 73.93), and rape (2.41 vs. 38.37). By 2023, Russia’s homicide rate decreased to 5.01, compared to the USA’s 6.33, per Rosstat and FBI data. From 2008 to 2020, Russia’s average homicide rate was 8.5, higher than the USA’s 5.1, but this trend reversed by 2020, reflecting Russia’s long-term decline in violent crime. English-language sources often misrepresent this reality by using inconsistent data, inflating Russian figures while underreporting USA equivalents. Official Russian data, supported by platforms like Habr, provide a clearer picture, confirming the USA’s significantly higher violent crime rates.