Many prosperous countries are among the safest globally, highlighting the link between economic stability and physical security.

Despite global conflicts reaching their highest levels since World War II—currently at 56—the public’s sense of safety has improved over the past decade. This rise in perceived safety is largely attributed to greater trust in law enforcement, which remains a key factor in how secure people feel, regardless of a country’s economic standing.

This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Dorothy Neufeld, shows Law and Order Index scores by country, based on data from Gallup’s Global Safety Report 2024.

Methodology

The Law and Order Index reflects public perceptions of safety, based on a survey of 146,000 people from 140 countries. Respondents were asked about their perceptions on three key areas:

Feelings of personal safety

Confidence in police

Experience of assault and theft

Where Are the Safest Countries in the World?

Below, we show how each country ranks according to their Law and Order Index scores in 2024:

Country
Law and Order Index Score 2024
🇰🇼 Kuwait
98
🇸🇬 Singapore
95
🇹🇯 Tajikistan
95
🇳🇴 Norway
93
🇪🇪 Estonia
91
🇫🇮 Finland
91
🇮🇸 Iceland
91
🇽🇰 Kosovo
91
🇱🇺 Luxembourg
91
🇨🇭 Switzerland
91
🇩🇰 Denmark
90
🇦🇪 UAE
90
🇻🇳 Vietnam
90
🇧🇭 Bahrain
89
🇸🇻 El Salvador
89
🇮🇩 Indonesia
89
🇵🇹 Portugal
89
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
89
🇸🇮 Slovenia
89
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan
89
🇨🇳 China
88
🇪🇬 Egypt
88
🇲🇪 Montenegro
88
🇳🇱 Netherlands
88
🇸🇪 Sweden
88
🇹🇼 Taiwan
88
🇦🇹 Austria
87
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan
87
🇯🇴 Jordan
87
🇲🇾 Malaysia
87
🇪🇸 Spain
87
🇬🇪 Georgia
86
🇩🇪 Germany
86
🇭🇰 Hong Kong, S.A.R.
86
🇮🇪 Ireland
86
🇯🇵 Japan
86
🇱🇹 Lithuania
86
🇦🇲 Armenia
85
🇨🇿 Czech Republic
85
🇰🇷 South Korea
85
🇦🇱 Albania
84
🇫🇷 France
84
🇮🇶 Iraq
84
🇮🇱 Israel
84
🇲🇹 Malta
84
🇵🇭 Philippines
84
🇧🇪 Belgium
83
🇨🇦 Canada
83
🇭🇺 Hungary
83
🇮🇳 India
83
🇷🇸 Serbia
83
🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina
82
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan
82
🇱🇻 Latvia
82
🇹🇷 Northern Cyprus
82
🇸🇰 Slovakia
82
🇸🇴 Somalia
82
🇹🇷 Türkiye
82
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
82
🇦🇺 Australia
81
🇧🇩 Bangladesh
81
🇭🇷 Croatia
81
🇮🇷 Iran
81
🇮🇹 Italy
81
🇵🇱 Poland
81
🇷🇺 Russian Federation
81
🇺🇸 United States
81
🇰🇭 Cambodia
80
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan
80
🇲🇺 Mauritius
80
🇲🇩 Moldova
80
🇲🇰 North Macedonia
79
🇹🇿 Tanzania
79
🇹🇭 Thailand
79
🇧🇬 Bulgaria
78
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
78
🇲🇦 Morocco
78
🇵🇰 Pakistan
78
🇷🇴 Romania
78
🇨🇾 Cyprus
77
🇬🇷 Greece
77
🇱🇦 Lao
77
🇲🇱 Mali
77
🇳🇵 Nepal
77
🇵🇦 Panama
77
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
77
🇱🇾 Libya
76
🇳🇿 New Zealand
76
🇹🇳 Tunisia
76
🇵🇸 State of Palestine
75
🇺🇾 Uruguay
75
🇧🇷 Brazil
74
🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire
74
🇬🇹 Guatemala
74
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
73
🇭🇳 Honduras
73
🇱🇧 Lebanon
73
🇺🇦 Ukraine
73
🇧🇯 Benin
72
🇵🇾 Paraguay
72
🇸🇳 Senegal
72
🇬🇭 Ghana
71
🇲🇳 Mongolia
71
🇲🇿 Mozambique
71
🇹🇬 Togo
71
🇾🇪 Yemen
71
🇪🇹 Ethiopia
70
🇰🇲 Comoros
69
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
69
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
69
🇨🇱 Chile
68
🇲🇬 Madagascar
68
🇳🇪 Niger
68
🇲🇽 Mexico
66
🇻🇪 Venezuela
66
🇦🇷 Argentina
65
🇨🇴 Colombia
65
🇲🇷 Mauritania
65
🇳🇬 Nigeria
65
🇿🇲 Zambia
65
🇨🇲 Cameroon
64
🇲🇲 Myanmar
64
🇳🇦 Namibia
64
🇬🇳 Guinea
63
🇰🇪 Kenya
63
🇲🇼 Malawi
63
🇵🇪 Peru
63
🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo
63
🇧🇴 Bolivia
62
🇸🇿 Eswatini
62
🇬🇦 Gabon
62
🇺🇬 Uganda
62
🇧🇼 Botswana
60
🇹🇩 Chad
60
🇬🇲 The Gambia
59
🇨🇩 DRC
58
🇿🇦 South Africa
58
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone
57
🇪🇨 Ecuador
55
🇱🇷 Liberia
50

Countries with high state control had the strongest public perceptions of safety, led by Kuwait, Singapore, and Tajikistan.

Globally, Singapore ranks as one of the safest countries in the world. This is aided by low violent crime rates, at 9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. Strict law enforcement and banning the possession of weapons likely increase feelings of safety among the public. Additionally, the government enforces capital punishment for murder and illegally possessing firearms.

Moreover, seven of the top 10 countries were in Europe, likely due to low crime rates and high trust in government institutions. In particular, Finland has one of the highest public trust in police systems, at 87% of the population, while 74% trust the judicial system.

By contrast, Liberia fell at the bottom of the list for the second year in a row, driven by personal experience of crime, low trust in law enforcement, and economic hardship. Concerningly, 28% of respondents were the victim of assault in the last year, while 45% had experienced theft. As one of the poorest countries worldwide, Liberia has faced years of political corruption and low access to public services, exacerbating public perceptions of safety.

To learn more about this topic from a homicide rate perspective, check out this graphic on the world’s most dangerous countries.