Brazil and Rio de Janeiro murder rate

I love Brazil. Unfortunately one can hear mostly negative facts and comments about it. And when it comes to Rio de Janeiro the propaganda is even more dark and gloomy. But if you look at statistics it is still not as bad .

Check it out! The murder rate in Brazil was growing in past 20 years and now stands at 24.5 per 100.000 thousands in 2007. Rio de Janeiro murder rate is 41.5 per 100.000 thousands. But Rio is on the 4th place in the country. And how is it comparing to the USA? Official American government statistics for 2008 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/offenses/expanded_information/homicide.html

What does it tell us? 14,137 murder victims of 2008 in the USA reported by FBI. The population of the USA is 301.621.157 That means that USA has a rate of 4.7 homicides per 100.000. And if one compares to the cities? In 2002: Washington, D.C., USA 45.8 ; (2) Detroit USA 42; (3) Baltimore 38.3