With three days to go until 2012, there have been 163 murders in the Netherlands this year, five fewer than in 2010, according to the annual Elsevier magazine survey.

In 2009, there were 178 murders. Most murders – 16 – took place in Amsterdam, the same as in 2010. In 2009 there were 32 murders in the capital. In Rotterdam there were 13 murders, a drop of five, and in The Hague just six.
The Dutch murder rate per head of population is in line with other European countries, Elsevier said. Similarly, most murders are committed by family members.