The homicide rate has reached its lowest level on record with a fall of more than 15 per cent in 2015, according to the latest official statistics.

Across the Netherlands 120 people were victims of murder or manslaughter, compared to 144 the year before, according to data published by Statistics Netherlands. The national records agency started compiling homicide figures in 1996.

Curiously, the number of women who met violent deaths increased from 31 to 43, but this was offset by a fall in the number of male victims from 113 to 77.

More than half the female victims died at the hands of their current or former partner, while men were more likely to be killed by an acquaintance. Men are also more likely to be killed with a gun or a blade.

Amsterdam was the most dangerous place in the Netherlands, with 13 deaths by murder or manslaughter, followed closely by Rotterdam on 12. Assassinations within the criminal underworld accounted for 13 per cent of the total.

People living in the major cities are around twice as likely to meet a violent death: the murder rate in Amsterdam was 2.3 per 100,000 people, compared to a national average of 0.9.