In a year marked by unprecedented global conflict, more people reported feeling safe in their communities than ever before. GALLUP’s 2025 Global Safety Report finds that 73% of adults worldwide report feeling safe walking alone at night where they live, the highest level recorded since GALLUP began tracking the measure in 2006.
Gallup partnered with the Center on International Cooperation (CIC) at New York University to produce this report. The collaboration combines Gallup’s global data with CIC’s expertise in violence prevention and peacebuilding.
The survey interviewed 145,170 adults aged 15 and above across 144 countries and territories, reflecting both objective safety measures and public perceptions.
GCC Countries Dominate Top 10 Safest List
Singapore leads the ranking worldwide, followed by Tajikistan, China, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Norway, Bahrain, and the UAE. The report highlights that GCC countries ranked higher than many European nations, including Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.
Safety Gains in Several Regions
Gains in the Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa largely drove the increase in perceived safety. Latin America and the Caribbean reached a milestone: 50% of residents now say they feel safe walking at night - the first time the region has reached this level.
“Even amid conflict and uncertainty, people around the world are building safer communities from the ground up,” said Jon Clifton, Gallup CEO. “These findings show that safety isn’t only the absence of violence, it’s the presence of trust, institutions and collective resilience.”
Wide Gaps Remain by Gender
Gender-based differences in safety perceptions also remain pronounced. Globally, 67% of women said they feel safe walking alone at night, compared with 78% of men. In more than 100 countries and territories, the gender gap in safety perceptions exceeded 10 percentage points. Several high-income countries, including the U.S., Australia and multiple European Union member states, had some of the largest gender disparities, with gaps of 26 points or more.
In the U.S., 71% of adults said they feel safe walking at night, which aligns with ratings in the past several years. Still, the U.S. has one of the largest gender disparities among high-income nations. Fifty-eight percent of women reported feeling safe, compared with 84% of men -- a 26-point gender gap.
