The UAE has been named the safest country in the world for 2025, according to crowd-sourced platform Numbeo, overtaking last year’s winner Andorra.
With a Safety Index score of 85.2, the nation now leads a list of 148 countries based on public perceptions of crime, safety and personal risk.
The rankings to find the safest country in the world are compiled from thousands of user responses regarding how safe people feel, crime levels and confidence in effective law enforcement.
Across the Gulf region Qatar remaining in third place globally scoring 84.6 and Oman came in sixth position. Saudi Arabia remained in 14th place and Bahrain climbed one place to 15th. Kuwait came in at 38th.
Unlike official crime statistics, Numbeo’s Safety Index is built around user-submitted surveys that measure how people feel about safety and crime to work out the the safest country in the world, rather than actual statistics.
Andorra, which held the top spot last year, now ranks second with a Safety Index of 84.8, while in fourth place is Taiwan, scoring 83.0 thanks to low violent crime rates, efficient public services and an effective police presence, particularly in urban areas like Taipei and Taichung.
Macao rounds out the top five with a score of 81.8, while further down the top 10 are several countries with longstanding reputations for public safety: the Isle of Man (7th), Hong Kong (8th), Armenia (9th) and Singapore (10th).
By contrast, the UK came in the 86th place with 51.6 points, while the US came in the 91st place with 50.8 points.
The report stated that although both nations possess advanced criminal justice systems and substantial policing budgets, several factors are cited for their declining scores. These included an increase in urban crime, especially in major cities, mass shootings in the US, rising incidents of theft and robbery and public distrust in policing and uneven law enforcement
At the bottom end of the scale, Haiti ranked lowest with a Safety Index score of just 19.0, followed by Papua New Guinea (19.3), Venezuela (19.5), Afghanistan (24.8), and South Africa (25.4).
Also, according to Numbeo’s Crime and Safety Index, Abu Dhabi is the safest city in the world, scoring 88.2 points in the safety index and recording the lowest crime rate of 11.8 points. Dubai ranked fifth while Ajman, Ras Al-Khaimah and Sharjah all ranking highly.
Abu Dhabi earned repeated praise for its urban planning and low crime perception, while Dubai’s transport, healthcare access, and public cleanliness have helped boost its international reputation.
