The number of murders and culpable homicides recorded by police last year was the lowest since records began.
Official figures show a total of 57 killings were recorded by police last year – around half the level of a decade ago.
The total represents an 8% fall on 2013/14 and a 52% reduction on 2006/7.
It is also the lowest number for a 12 month period since records began in 1976.
Cabinet Secretary for Justice Michael Matheson welcomed the findings, but suggested there was more work to be done.
He said: “While it is encouraging to see continued falls in homicide cases alongside the long-term decline in violent crime, the sustained efforts that have helped achieve this – through education and enforcement – must continue, because each of the lives lost is one life too many.”
According the figures published yesterday, the majority of homicide victims were men – 72%.
A total of 86% of those accused of homicide were also men, according to the figures for 2015/16.
Around half of victims were killed by an acquaintance, with almost of those accused under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the incident.
No homicide cases in 2015/16 featured more than one victim, although eight featured more than one accused.
The majority of homicide victims were male and aged between 21 and 30, according to the official document.
Mr Matheson added: “There is a clear role across a range of public services, in addition to the critical work of our police, to continue to support communities that may remain at risk from violent crime and to challenge irresponsible attitudes both to alcohol misuse and to so-called ‘casual’ violence.
“We will continue to work with partners and invest in a range of projects to help steer our young people away from the risks of a life of violence and crime, while also ensuring our law enforcement agencies and the courts have the powers and resources needed to deal with those who do harm to others.”
In 2006/7, there were a total of 120 homicide victims and 169 accused.
There was once unsolved murder in 2015/16, according the figures.
The bulletin also shows that a sharp instrument remains the most common method of killing in Scotland and accounted for 51% of homicides – or 29 – in 2015/16. Nearly all these cases – 26 out of 29 – involved a knife.
