Brazil homicides hit record in 2014

Sao Paulo, Mar 22: Brazil registered 163 homicides a day in 2014, the highest number in the world and the South American country's most murderous year on record, a study said Tuesday.

The figure -- 59,627 for the year -- was up 3.8 percent from the year before, continuing a decade-long rise in the number of homicides.

"This is the largest number of homicides registered in Brazilian history and makes it the county with the highest number of homicides in the world in absolute terms," said lead researcher Renato Sergio de Lima of the Brazilian Forum for Public Security.

The "Atlas of Violence 2016" is a joint report by the forum and the Institute of Applied Economic Research. Over the past decade, the number of homicides per year has risen by 21 percent, according to the study.

The states that registered the highest tolls were economic hub Sao Paulo, with nearly 17 homicides a day; northeastern state Bahia, with nearly 16 a day; and Rio de Janeiro, whose capital city will host the Olympics in August, with more than 15 a day.

AFP