Comparative statistics of crime rates around the world draws a surprising, if somewhat amusing, conclusion – the world we now live in is a safer place than before.
Crime in the only remaining superpower is seen to be declining. In US, street crime hovers near historic lows – hence the declaration of certain analysts that life in US has never been safer. And with the apparently downward trend of criminal activities all over the world, the world appears to be a friendlier place – notwithstanding terrorism. This is in sharp contrast to the perception that the world is getting more dangerous everyday.
Though the United States still ranks among the highest in violent crimes among industrialized nations, and also in overall crime, the country is enjoying a decline in crime numbers, nevertheless. In the meantime, crime in many other nations – specifically in Eastern and Western Europe – appear intent on catching up. Low-crime societies like Denmark and Finland are ranking high among street crime rates in the present. Even countries absent from the crime radar are making themselves conspicuous – like another industrialized nation, Japan.
Comparative analysis of crime rate statistics around the world remains complicated. Different definitions of what constitutes a crime make official crime statistics undependable, for one. Still, the United Nation initiative of global crime rates tracking – the World Crime Survey – may offer the most realistic and reliable figures.
Other factors affecting crime levels are:
a. Difference in legal and criminal justice systems
b. Rates of crime report and police recording
c. Differences in the point at which a crime is measured – some countries believes it is the time when the offense is reported; others only do the recording when a suspect in identified and the papers are transferred to the prosecutor
d. Differences in the ruling of which multiple offenses are counted
e. Differences in the lost of offenses to be included in the whole crime figures
f. Differences in data quality
Using the United States as a point of reference, we arrive at the following conclusions:
Burglary – Widely believed as the gravest of property crimes, burglary is lower in US today than in the 80s. As of 2000, US has lower rates than Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, and Wales. It has higher rates than Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Spain.
Homicide – US had been consistently high in homicide rates than most of the Western countries from 1980 – 2000. Though the rate was cut almost in half in the 90s, it is still higher than all nations without political and social turmoil with the 2000 rate of 5.5 homicides per 100,000 people. Countries entrenched in turmoil like Colombia and South Africa, had 63 homicides per 100,000 and 51, respectively.
Rape – In the 80s and 90s, US rates were higher than most of the Western countries, but by 2000, Canada is leading. Rape reports are lower in Asia and the Middle East.
Robbery – The past 2 decades saw a steady decline in the US. Countries with more reported robberies than US include England, Wales, Portugal, and Spain. Those with fewer are France, Germany, and Italy, and Asian countries plus the Middle East.
In overall crimes (the total of all mentioned crimes), US ranks the highest, followed by Germany, United Kingdom, France, and South Africa.
Total crime victims by country
| Rank | Countries | Amount (top to bottom) | |
| #1 | Australia: | 30.1% | |
| #2 | New Zealand: | 29.4% | |
| #3 | United Kingdom: | 26.4% | |
| #4 | Netherlands: | 25.2% | |
| #5 | Sweden: | 24.7% | |
| #6 | Italy: | 24.6% | |
| #7 | Canada: | 23.8% | |
| #8 | Saint Kitts and Nevis: | 23.2% | |
| #9 | Malta: | 23.1% | |
| #10 | Denmark: | 23% | |
| #11 | Poland: | 22.7% | |
| #12 | Belgium: | 21.4% | |
| #13 | France: | 21.4% | |
| #14 | Slovenia: | 21.2% | |
| #15 | United States: | 21.1% | |
| #16 | Finland: | 19.1% | |
| #17 | Austria: | 18.8% | |
| #18 | Switzerland: | 18.2% | |
| #19 | Portugal: | 15.5% | |
| #20 | Japan: | 15.2% | |
| Weighted average: | 22.4% | |
DEFINITION: People victimized by crime (as a % of the total population). Data refer to people victimized by one or more of 11 crimes recorded in the survey: robbery, burglary, attempted burglary, car theft, car vandalism, bicycle theft, sexual assault, theft from car, theft of personal property, assault and threats. Crime statistics are often better indicators of prevalence of law enforcement and willingness to report crime, than actual prevalence.
Murders Rates by country
| Rank | Countries | Amount (top to bottom) | |
| #1 | Colombia: | 0.617847 per 1,000 people | |
| #2 | South Africa: | 0.496008 per 1,000 people | |
| #3 | Jamaica: | 0.324196 per 1,000 people | |
| #4 | Venezuela: | 0.316138 per 1,000 people | |
| #5 | Russia: | 0.201534 per 1,000 people | |
| #6 | Mexico: | 0.130213 per 1,000 people | |
| #7 | Estonia: | 0.107277 per 1,000 people | |
| #8 | Latvia: | 0.10393 per 1,000 people | |
| #9 | Lithuania: | 0.102863 per 1,000 people | |
| #10 | Belarus: | 0.0983495 per 1,000 people | |
| #11 | Ukraine: | 0.094006 per 1,000 people | |
| #12 | Papua New Guinea: | 0.0838593 per 1,000 people | |
| #13 | Kyrgyzstan: | 0.0802565 per 1,000 people | |
| #14 | Thailand: | 0.0800798 per 1,000 people | |
| #15 | Moldova: | 0.0781145 per 1,000 people | |
| #16 | Zimbabwe: | 0.0749938 per 1,000 people | |
| #17 | Seychelles: | 0.0739025 per 1,000 people | |
| #18 | Zambia: | 0.070769 per 1,000 people | |
| #19 | Costa Rica: | 0.061006 per 1,000 people | |
| #20 | Poland: | 0.0562789 per 1,000 people | |
| #21 | Georgia: | 0.0511011 per 1,000 people | |
| #22 | Uruguay: | 0.045082 per 1,000 people | |
| #23 | Bulgaria: | 0.0445638 per 1,000 people | |
| #24 | United States: | 0.042802 per 1,000 people | |
| #25 | Armenia: | 0.0425746 per 1,000 people | |
| #26 | India: | 0.0344083 per 1,000 people | |
| #27 | Yemen: | 0.0336276 per 1,000 people | |
| #28 | Dominica: | 0.0289733 per 1,000 people | |
| #29 | Azerbaijan: | 0.0285642 per 1,000 people | |
| #30 | Finland: | 0.0283362 per 1,000 people | |
| #31 | Slovakia: | 0.0263303 per 1,000 people | |
| #32 | Romania: | 0.0250784 per 1,000 people | |
| #33 | Portugal: | 0.0233769 per 1,000 people | |
| #34 | Malaysia: | 0.0230034 per 1,000 people | |
| #35 | Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of: | 0.0229829 per 1,000 people | |
| #36 | Mauritius: | 0.021121 per 1,000 people | |
| #37 | Hungary: | 0.0204857 per 1,000 people | |
| #38 | Korea, South: | 0.0196336 per 1,000 people | |
| #39 | Slovenia: | 0.0179015 per 1,000 people | |
| #40 | France: | 0.0173272 per 1,000 people | |
| #41 | Czech Republic: | 0.0169905 per 1,000 people | |
| #42 | Iceland: | 0.0168499 per 1,000 people | |
| #43 | Australia: | 0.0150324 per 1,000 people | |
| #44 | Canada: | 0.0149063 per 1,000 people | |
| #45 | Chile: | 0.014705 per 1,000 people | |
| #46 | United Kingdom: | 0.0140633 per 1,000 people | |
| #47 | Italy: | 0.0128393 per 1,000 people | |
| #48 | Spain: | 0.0122456 per 1,000 people | |
| #49 | Germany: | 0.0116461 per 1,000 people | |
| #50 | Tunisia: | 0.0112159 per 1,000 people | |
| #51 | Netherlands: | 0.0111538 per 1,000 people | |
| #52 | New Zealand: | 0.0111524 per 1,000 people | |
| #53 | Denmark: | 0.0106775 per 1,000 people | |
| #54 | Norway: | 0.0106684 per 1,000 people | |
| #55 | Ireland: | 0.00946215 per 1,000 people | |
| #56 | Switzerland: | 0.00921351 per 1,000 people | |
| #57 | Indonesia: | 0.00910842 per 1,000 people | |
| #58 | Greece: | 0.0075928 per 1,000 people | |
| #59 | Hong Kong: | 0.00550804 per 1,000 people | |
| #60 | Japan: | 0.00499933 per 1,000 people | |
| #61 | Saudi Arabia: | 0.00397456 per 1,000 people | |
| #62 | Qatar: | 0.00115868 per 1,000 people | |
| Weighted average: | 0.1 per 1,000 people | |
DEFINITION: Total recorded intentional homicides, completed. Crime statistics are often better indicators of prevalence of law enforcement and willingness to report crime, than actual prevalence. Per capita figures expressed per 1,000 population.
Rapes by country
| Rank | Countries | Amount (top to bottom) | |
| #1 | United States: | 89,110 | |
| #2 | South Africa: | 53,008 | |
| #3 | Canada: | 24,049 | |
| #4 | Australia: | 15,630 | |
| #5 | India: | 15,468 | |
| #6 | Mexico: | 13,061 | |
| #7 | United Kingdom: | 8,593 | |
| #8 | France: | 8,458 | |
| #9 | Germany: | 7,499 | |
| #10 | Russia: | 6,978 | |
| #11 | Korea, South: | 6,139 | |
| #12 | Spain: | 5,664 | |
| #13 | Zimbabwe: | 5,567 | |
| #14 | Thailand: | 4,020 | |
| #15 | Venezuela: | 2,931 | |
| #16 | Poland: | 2,399 | |
| #17 | Italy: | 2,336 | |
| #18 | Japan: | 2,260 | |
| #19 | Colombia: | 1,861 | |
| #20 | Netherlands: | 1,648 | |
| #21 | Indonesia: | 1,372 | |
| #22 | Jamaica: | 1,304 | |
| #23 | Papua New Guinea: | 1,295 | |
| #24 | Turkey: | 1,260 | |
| #25 | Chile: | 1,250 | |
| #26 | Malaysia: | 1,210 | |
| #27 | Sri Lanka: | 1,202 | |
| #28 | Ukraine: | 1,151 | |
| #29 | Romania: | 1,110 | |
| #30 | New Zealand: | 861 | |
| #31 | Bulgaria: | 593 | |
| #32 | Hungary: | 589 | |
| #33 | Finland: | 579 | |
| #34 | Norway: | 555 | |
| #35 | Belarus: | 530 | |
| #36 | Czech Republic: | 500 | |
| #37 | Denmark: | 497 | |
| #38 | Costa Rica: | 475 | |
| #39 | Switzerland: | 404 | |
| #40 | Portugal: | 385 | |
| #41 | Tunisia: | 334 | |
| #42 | Kyrgyzstan: | 321 | |
| #43 | Zambia: | 300 | |
| #44 | Ireland: | 218 | |
| #45 | Moldova: | 200 | |
| #46 | Lithuania: | 183 | |
| #47 | Uruguay: | 175 | |
| #48 | Slovakia: | 129 | |
| #49 | Greece: | 114 | |
| #50 | Hong Kong: | 104 | |
| #51 | Latvia: | 104 | |
| #52 | Saudi Arabia: | 87 | |
| #53 | Slovenia: | 86 | |
| #54 | Yemen: | 80 | |
| #55 | Iceland: | 73 | |
| #56 | Estonia: | 73 | |
| #57 | Seychelles: | 64 | |
| #58 | Georgia: | 47 | |
| #59 | Azerbaijan: | 30 | |
| #60 | Armenia: | 28 | |
| #61 | Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of: | 27 | |
| #62 | Mauritius: | 27 | |
| #63 | Dominica: | 24 | |
| #64 | Qatar: | 12 | |
| #65 | Montserrat: | 7 | |
| Total: | 296,648 | ||
| Weighted average: | 4,563.8 | |
Kidnappings by country
| Rank | Countries | Amount (top to bottom) | |
| #1 | Colombia: | 5,181 kidnappings | |
| #2 | Mexico: | 1,269 kidnappings | |
| #3 | Brazil: | 515 kidnappings | |
| #4 | Philippines: | 492 kidnappings | |
| #5 | Venezuela: | 109 kidnappings | |
| #6 | India: | 76 kidnappings | |
| #7 | Ecuador: | 66 kidnappings | |
| #8 | Nigeria: | 34 kidnappings | |
| #9 | South Africa: | 11 kidnappings | |
| Total: | 7,753 kidnappings | ||
| Weighted average: | 861.4 kidnappings | |
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