IDB Study: Crime Cost $122M In 2022

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Inter-American Development Bank study revealed that in 2022, homicides cost The Bahamas 0.8% of its gross domestic product, ranking us fourth in the region.

The study titled the cost of crime and violence: expansion and update of estimates for Latin America and the Caribbean are based on data from 2022. The Bahamas National Statistical Institute reported real GDP was at $12.5b in 2022.

That means homicides that year cost the public purse $100m.

The report reveals that only Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Honduras recorded higher figures than The Bahamas.

The report reads the cost of homicides in Latin America and the Caribbean for 2022, estimated at 0.44 percent of GDP is more than twice the cost recorded in other regions of the world. 

The report also says that social and economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean is heavily burned by crime and violence.

It adds crime and violence in Latin America and the Caribbean limit development, significantly affecting people’s lives, economic opportunities and government action.

For the year, The Bahamas have recorded 104 homicides. In 2023, 110 homicides were recorded, a drop from 2022, which saw 128 homicides.