AKIPRESS.COM - Almost half a million people across the world died in 2012 as a result of intentional homicide, with the highest murder rates logged in the Americas and Africa, and the lowest in Europe, Asia and Oceania, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported.

"Too many lives are being tragically cut short, too many families and communities left shattered. There is an urgent need to understand how violent crime is plaguing countries around the world, particularly affecting young men but also taking a heavy toll on women,” said Jean-Luc Lemahieu, Director for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs at UNODC, during the launch of the agency’s 2013 Global Study on Homicide today in London.

Globally, men represent some 80 per cent of homicide victims and 95 per cent of perpetrators. While almost 15 per cent of all homicides stem from domestic violence (63,600), more than two thirds of domestic violence fatalities are women (43,600, almost 70 per cent).

Over half of all homicide victims are under 30 years of age, with children under the age of 15 accounting for just over 8 per cent of all homicides (36,000), the study highlights. UNODC also spotlights that almost 750 million people live in countries with the highest homicide rates – mostly in the Americas and Africa – meaning that almost half of all murders occurs in countries that are home to just 11 per cent of the earth's population.