Brazil Has Highest Cost of Crime in Latin America: IDB

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has revealed that Brazil has the highest cost of crime in Latin America, according to its new report, The Costs of Crime and Violence.

“[Brazil] is the country with the highest costs of crime in nominal terms. Violence accounted for $7.6 billion in losses to the country in 2014 in a conservative scenario, representing 53% of the total cost of crime in Latin America and Caribbean, and 78% in the Southern Cone,” said the report.

The study also estimates that the direct annual cost of crime and violence in Latin America and the Caribbean is US$261 billion, or 3.55% of GDP.

This is roughly what the region invests on infrastructure, and is double the average cost for developed countries, according to the report.