UAE ranked among safest countries in global crime report

Oman, Georgia and Taiwan were among the top 10

The UAE was ranked among the safest countries in the world in a global crime report.

Numbeo listed the country in third place, with Qatar in first and Taiwan in second.

Georgia and Oman - two of the most popular holiday destinations for UAE travellers - were fourth and fifth followed by Hong Kong and Slovenia.

Isle Of Man, Switzerland and Japan rounded up the top ten.

 

The Emirates previously scored in the top countries for safety, and Numbeo has listed Abu Dhabi as the safest city in the world since 2017.

The bottom of the charts was dominated by war zones and several Central American countries, where gun crime and kidnapping is rampant.

The crowd-sourced global data website published its half-year findings for 2020 this week. It provides twice annual snapshots of the safest cities and countries, along with measuring the cost of living.

 

It measures countries using a 'crime index' and a 'safety index'.

"We consider crime levels lower than 20 as very low, crime levels between 20 and 40 as being low, crime levels between 40 and 60 as being moderate, crime levels between 60 and 80 as being high and finally crime levels higher than 80 as being very high," Numbeo said.

The safety index is the opposite of the crime index. “If the city has a high safety index, it is considered very safe," the website said.

The UAE's crime index was 15.4 and its safety index was 84.5, meaning the average resident feels very safe.

At the bottom of the rankings was Venezuela, once the wealthiest country in South America, which has been beset by political turmoil and hyper-inflation. Murder and kidnappings have risen sharply in recent years and it is regarded as particularly dangerous for foreign travellers and investors.

 

It was ranked 84.36 for crime and 15.64 for safety, meaning the average resident feels extremely vulnerable to crime.

Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Afghanistan and Honduras were next on the list.

Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil, Guyana, El Salvador and Syria comprised the bottom 10.

TOPSHOTS-TOPSHOT-HONDURAS-HEALTH-VIRUS

NO 129 HONDURAS: Gangs, street violence and corruption have plagued the Central American nation for years. Though the murder rate fell significantly from 87 per 100,000 people in 2011 to 44 per 100,000 in 2019, 13 people are still killed every day on average. Orlando Sierra / AFP