Brazil lost 301,825 young people between the ages of 15 and 29 to violence between 2014 and 2024, averaging approximately 75 murders per day, according to the Atlas da Violência 2026 report released today. The study reveals that in 2024 alone, 19,801 youths were murdered in the country, accounting for 46.5% of all homicide victims recorded in Brazil during that period.
The homicide rate stood at 42.2 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants within this specific age group—more than double the national average—according to the research conducted by the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA) and the Brazilian Public Security Forum.
The authors of the study warned that Brazilian youth remain “disproportionately exposed to lethal and non-lethal violence,” particularly in socially vulnerable territories where crime deepens cycles of poverty and social exclusion.
The report emphasizes that this silent loss of human capital heavily impacts families, support networks, and social cohesion, while highlighting the severe economic damage caused by the premature deaths of young citizens during their most productive years.
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According to the data, the situation is drastically more severe among young males. Out of the nearly 20,000 young people murdered in 2024, a staggering 18,545 were men, resulting in a specific rate of 78 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants—nearly double the general rate for youth.
The authors described lethal violence among Brazilian youth as an overwhelmingly male phenomenon deeply tied to structural factors, citing cultural norms of masculinity that encourage young men to expose themselves to risk and naturalize aggressive behavior.
Beyond homicides, the Atlas da Violência also detailed alarming trends regarding sexual violence against children and adolescents. In 2024, authorities registered 87,545 cases of rape and statutory rape, with 76.8% of the victims classified as vulnerable. Approximately 66% of these reported cases involved children between the ages of 5 and 14, while 18% affected infants and toddlers aged 0 to 4, and 16% targeted adolescents between 15 and 19.
The 5-to-14 age bracket represented the highest absolute volume of cases. However, researchers labeled the sharp rise of sexual violence in early childhood as one of the report’s most critical findings, noting that reported cases for children aged 0 to 4 skyrocketed from 1,671 in 2014 to 7,845 in 2024—a more than fourfold increase over a single decade.
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The study concludes that youth sexual victimization is deeply structured by gender inequalities, disproportionately impacting girls, who make up 86.9% of all reported victims.
