Violence increased in Mexico in 2016, as the country’s homicide rate increased by more than 18 percent in one of the bloodiest years of the country’s decade-long drug war, according to a report released Tuesday.
The report by the Sydney-based Institute for Economics and Peace estimates the economic impact of overall violence in the country at about $180 billion, or roughly 18 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.
The analysis looks at factors including homicides and their cost to families, the criminal justice system and employers, said Talia Hagerty, a co-author of the report.
Long-term investments to fight issues, such as government corruption, would be less costly than the immediate costs of violence, Hagerty said.
“Eventually, we’re going to be able to look back and say it was less costly to invest in institutions and that way save the country pain and money,” Hagerty said.
According to the institute’s 2016 Global Peace Index, Canada ranked as the 8th most peaceful country in the world, the U.S. ranked 103 and Mexico ranked 140.
