El Salvador is world’s murder capital

Killings spiked by nearly 70% last year in the gang-plagued El Salvador, authorities said, resulting in a homicide rate that could make it the world’s most violent country.

National Police director Mauricio Ramirez Landaverde said El Salvador officially registered at least 6,657 homicides in 2015, up from 3,942 the previous year.

The overall yearly homicide rate was the country’s highest ever at 104 per 100,000 inhabitants, putting it in a position to take over the dubious title of the world’s murder capital from neighbouring Honduras.