Yucatán leads Mexico in peace for the eighth year running, boasting the lowest homicide and firearm-related crime rates and a 90% resolution rate for missing-person cases, according to the 2025 Mexico Peace Index.
Yucatán has cemented itself as a national exception in violence statistics. The state has once again positioned itself as the most peaceful entity in the country, according to the Mexico Peace Index 2025 compiled by the Institute for Economics and Peace. What’s remarkable is not only that it leads the ranking, but that it does so for the eighth consecutive time, standing firm against a national backdrop marked by insecurity.
The indicators underpinning this privileged status are compelling: Yucatán reports the lowest rates of homicides, violent crimes, and offenses committed with firearms, and is also among the states where the population feels the least fear. In particular, the homicide rate was a mere 2.2 per 100,000 inhabitants—a figure that contrasts sharply with the national average, which exceeds 23.
The report notes that even with the change in state administration in 2024, Yucatán managed to maintain its leadership in peace. In the context of a political transition, this kind of stability is usually hard to preserve, highlighting the institutional strength the state enjoys in public security.
Regarding firearm-related crimes, Yucatán again ranks as the state with the lowest incidence: just 0.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. That’s 39 times lower than the national average. Moreover, only 11.8 percent of the state’s homicides were carried out with firearms—evidence not only of low lethal violence but also of a context where access to weapons is significantly more restricted or controlled.
Another aspect the report emphasizes is the effectiveness in locating missing persons: more than 90 percent of cases since 2010 have concluded with the individuals found alive. This rare achievement at the national level reinforces the perception that Yucatán is not only safe but also effective in resolving social conflicts and sensitive cases.
Governor Joaquín Díaz Mena has underscored that security is one of the central pillars of his administration, which he has dubbed the “Mayan Renaissance.” In line with this, he has allocated over 800 million pesos in the past six months to strengthen the operational capacities of state and municipal security forces.
Among concrete measures, 169 fully equipped patrol vehicles have been delivered to municipalities in the state’s interior—a step aimed not only at improving emergency response times but also at reinforcing police presence in rural areas and smaller communities. Continuous training for officers and the use of technology in surveillance and prevention tasks have also been prioritized.
The Mexico Peace Index 2025 does not focus solely on Yucatán. It also recognizes the progress of states such as Durango, Tlaxcala, Nayarit, and Coahuila, which have maintained low levels of domestic and sexual violence as well as crimes like kidnapping and human trafficking. In particular, Durango and Yucatán share a notable distinction: neither registered any cases of kidnapping or trafficking during 2024.
In the case of Mérida, Yucatán’s capital, the city leads among state capitals with the lowest homicide rate: 1.8 per 100,000 inhabitants. This bolsters its reputation as one of the safest cities not only in the country but on the continent.