Measured by lethal violence (the intentional-homicide rate per 100,000 people), the safest countries on record are Oman, Singapore and Qatar — each about 0.1 per 100,000. The world average is 5.2 (2023), so these countries sit roughly 50× below it. But read this narrowly: it measures murder, not war, terrorism, civil liberties or how free a place is — and each country's figure is its most recent available year.
Lowest homicide rate
0.1
Oman · 2023Safest major developed country
0.2
Japan · 0.2 per 100k · rank #4
World homicide rate
5.2
per 100k · 2023
Where lethal violence is rarest
195 countries · … mapped
Loading map…
Color = homicide rate (darker means safer — a lower homicide rate). Hover any country for its exact figure and data year.
source: World Bank / UNODCdata year: 1994–2023geo: 195 countrieshomicide only — not overall safety
About this data
method: intentional homicides per 100,000, World Bank (VC.IHR.PSRC.P5), most recent year per country; lower = safer
page updated: 2026-07-21
This ranking measures ONE thing: the intentional-homicide rate — murders per 100,000 people per year, compiled by the World Bank from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and national criminal-justice systems. A low rate here means lethal violence is rare — it does NOT mean a country is "safe" in every sense. It says nothing about war, terrorism, road deaths, disease, disaster, political freedom or how a place treats women, minorities or dissidents. Several countries with very low homicide rates are also highly restrictive societies. Read this as "lowest murder rate", not "safest place to live".
The data year DIFFERS by country. Homicide statistics have gaps — not every country reports every year — so each figure here is that country's most recent available year, ranging from 1994 to 2023 (median 2022). The year is shown in every row of the table. A handful of older figures (before 2012) are marked with an asterisk; treat them with extra caution.
The very safest end of this list is dominated by two clusters: the Gulf states — Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, 4 of the top ten — and East Asia, led by Singapore, Japan (0.2 per 100k, the lowest of any large developed nation) and Hong Kong. Their low homicide rates are real and well-documented; whether they feel "safe" in a broader sense depends on much more than murder.
For a broader view of safety and peace — armed conflict, militarization, political terror, and perceived safety on the street — see the Global Peace Index (GPI) by the Institute for Economics & Peace, and the Numbeo Safety Index. Both use different, composite methodologies; we link to them rather than reproduce their scores.
Countries reported at exactly 0.0 per 100,000 were excluded as data gaps rather than true zeros (here, Channel Islands(2010)) — no populated country genuinely records no homicides at all, so a 0.0 almost always signals a missing or unreported figure.
License: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data). Underlying homicide counts come from UNODC and national sources.
Homicide rate by country
Pick any country to see its intentional-homicide rate, its safety rank, the data year, and how it compares to the world average.
Choose a country above to see its homicide rate — and where it sits in the world.
e.g. Czechia — 0.8 per 100k · #32 of 195
Top 10 safest countries by homicide rate
The ten countries and territories with the lowest intentional-homicide rate. Longer bar = safer. Each bar is labeled with its data year — Gulf states and East Asian countries dominate the very top.
Show
Every country in the world, ranked
The full list — sort by any column. Search to jump to a country. The homicide column is colored by a continuous ramp — darker means safer (a lower rate). The "Year" column shows each country's data year (they differ); an asterisk marks older figures.
| Rank | Country | Homicide /100k ▲ | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oman | 0.1 | 2023 |
| 2 |  Singapore | 0.1 | 2023 |
| 3 |  Qatar | 0.1 | 2022 |
| 4 |  Japan | 0.2 | 2023 |
| 5 |  Bahrain | 0.2 | 2022 |
| 6 |  Kuwait | 0.2 | 2020 |
| 7 |  Indonesia | 0.3 | 2022 |
| 8 |  Vanuatu | 0.3 | 2020 |
| 9 |  Senegal | 0.3 | 2015 |
| 10 |  Hong Kong | 0.4 | 2023 |
| 11 |  French Polynesia | 0.4 | 2009* |
| 12 |  South Korea | 0.5 | 2023 |
| 13 |  China | 0.5 | 2020 |
| 14 |  Brunei | 0.5 | 2013 |
| 15 |  Switzerland | 0.6 | 2023 |
| 16 |  Italy | 0.6 | 2023 |
| 17 |  Macao | 0.6 | 2023 |
| 18 |  Malta | 0.6 | 2023 |
| 19 |  Slovenia | 0.6 | 2023 |
| 20 |  West Bank and Gaza | 0.6 | 2022 |
| 21 |  Maldives | 0.6 | 2019 |
| 22 |  Spain | 0.7 | 2023 |
| 23 |  Croatia | 0.7 | 2023 |
| 24 |  Hungary | 0.7 | 2023 |
| 25 |  Ireland | 0.7 | 2023 |
| 26 |  Malaysia | 0.7 | 2023 |
| 27 |  Netherlands | 0.7 | 2023 |
| 28 |  Norway | 0.7 | 2023 |
| 29 |  United Arab Emirates | 0.7 | 2022 |
| 30 |  Portugal | 0.7 | 2022 |
| 31 |  Cyprus | 0.8 | 2023 |
| 32 |  Czechia | 0.8 | 2023 |
| 33 |  Denmark | 0.8 | 2023 |
| 34 |  Greece | 0.8 | 2023 |
| 35 |  Montenegro | 0.8 | 2023 |
| 36 |  Poland | 0.8 | 2023 |
| 37 |  Australia | 0.9 | 2023 |
| 38 |  Austria | 0.9 | 2023 |
| 39 |  Germany | 0.9 | 2023 |
| 40 |  Tajikistan | 0.9 | 2020 |
| 41 |  Micronesia | 0.9 | 2019 |
| 42 |  Saudi Arabia | 0.9 | 2019 |
| 43 |  Tonga | 0.9 | 2019 |
| 44 |  Finland | 1.0 | 2023 |
| 45 |  Jordan | 1.0 | 2023 |
| 46 |  Mauritania | 1.0 | 2020 |
| 47 |  Turkmenistan | 1.0 | 2015 |
| 48 |  Bulgaria | 1.1 | 2023 |
| 49 |  Romania | 1.1 | 2023 |
| 50 |  Slovakia | 1.1 | 2023 |
| 51 |  Sweden | 1.1 | 2023 |
| 52 |  Belgium | 1.1 | 2021 |
| 53 |  United Kingdom | 1.1 | 2021 |
| 54 |  Benin | 1.1 | 2017 |
| 55 |  Guinea-Bissau | 1.1 | 2017 |
| 56 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1.2 | 2023 |
| 57 |  Algeria | 1.2 | 2023 |
| 58 |  Isle of Man | 1.2 | 2015 |
| 59 |  France | 1.3 | 2023 |
| 60 |  Iceland | 1.3 | 2023 |
| 61 |  Serbia | 1.3 | 2023 |
| 62 |  Burkina Faso | 1.3 | 2017 |
| 63 |  Egypt | 1.3 | 2017 |
| 64 |  Albania | 1.4 | 2023 |
| 65 |  Uzbekistan | 1.4 | 2021 |
| 66 |  Estonia | 1.5 | 2023 |
| 67 |  North Macedonia | 1.5 | 2023 |
| 68 |  Luxembourg | 1.5 | 2022 |
| 69 |  New Zealand | 1.5 | 2022 |
| 70 |  Vietnam | 1.5 | 2011* |
| 71 |  Israel | 1.6 | 2022 |
| 72 |  Morocco | 1.7 | 2023 |
| 73 |  Kyrgyzstan | 1.7 | 2020 |
| 74 |  Ghana | 1.8 | 2022 |
| 75 |  Malawi | 1.8 | 2012 |
| 76 |  Cambodia | 1.8 | 2011* |
| 77 |  Kosovo | 1.9 | 2021 |
| 78 |  Aruba | 1.9 | 2014 |
| 79 |  Canada | 2.0 | 2023 |
| 80 |  Georgia | 2.0 | 2019 |
| 81 |  Fiji | 2.1 | 2023 |
| 82 |  Nepal | 2.1 | 2020 |
| 83 |  Syria | 2.1 | 2010* |
| 84 |  Armenia | 2.2 | 2023 |
| 85 |  Azerbaijan | 2.2 | 2023 |
| 86 |  Lebanon | 2.2 | 2020 |
| 87 |  Sierra Leone | 2.2 | 2020 |
| 88 |  Mauritius | 2.3 | 2022 |
| 89 |  Bangladesh | 2.3 | 2018 |
| 90 |  Belarus | 2.4 | 2019 |
| 91 |  Iran | 2.4 | 2014 |
| 92 |  Latvia | 2.5 | 2023 |
| 93 |  Moldova | 2.5 | 2023 |
| 94 |  Bhutan | 2.5 | 2020 |
| 95 |  Lithuania | 2.6 | 2023 |
| 96 |  Myanmar | 2.6 | 2023 |
| 97 |  Kazakhstan | 2.6 | 2022 |
| 98 |  Andorra | 2.6 | 2020 |
| 99 |  India | 2.8 | 2022 |
| 100 |  Liberia | 3.1 | 2012 |
| 101 |  New Caledonia | 3.1 | 2009* |
| 102 |  Monaco | 3.1 | 2001* |
| 103 |  Türkiye | 3.2 | 2023 |
| 104 |  Sao Tome and Principe | 3.2 | 2011* |
| 105 |  Gibraltar | 3.2 | 2010* |
| 106 |  Sri Lanka | 3.3 | 2019 |
| 107 |  Rwanda | 3.6 | 2020 |
| 108 |  Mozambique | 3.6 | 2011* |
| 109 |  San Marino | 3.6 | 2002* |
| 110 |  Tanzania | 3.7 | 2020 |
| 111 |  Solomon Islands | 3.7 | 2008* |
| 112 |  Ukraine | 3.8 | 2021 |
| 113 |  Afghanistan | 4.0 | 2021 |
| 114 |  Angola | 4.1 | 2016 |
| 115 |  Timor-Leste | 4.1 | 2015 |
| 116 |  Marshall Islands | 4.2 | 1994* |
| 117 |  Pakistan | 4.3 | 2023 |
| 118 |  Philippines | 4.3 | 2023 |
| 119 |  Guam | 4.3 | 2019 |
| 120 |  Bolivia | 4.4 | 2023 |
| 121 |  Cayman Islands | 4.4 | 2020 |
| 122 |  Niger | 4.4 | 2012 |
| 123 |  Argentina | 4.5 | 2023 |
| 124 |  Cuba | 4.5 | 2019 |
| 125 |  Tunisia | 4.7 | 2020 |
| 126 |  Thailand | 4.8 | 2011* |
| 127 |  Kenya | 4.9 | 2022 |
| 128 |  Liechtenstein | 5.1 | 2021 |
| 129 |  Sudan | 5.1 | 2008* |
| 130 |  Zambia | 5.2 | 2015 |
| 131 |  Greenland | 5.4 | 2016 |
| 132 |  Burundi | 5.6 | 2016 |
| 133 |  United States | 5.8 | 2023 |
| 134 |  Yemen | 5.8 | 2013 |
| 135 |  Mongolia | 5.9 | 2023 |
| 136 |  Bermuda | 6.2 | 2023 |
| 137 |  Chile | 6.3 | 2023 |
| 138 |  Samoa | 6.3 | 2018 |
| 139 |  Suriname | 6.5 | 2023 |
| 140 |  Paraguay | 6.8 | 2023 |
| 141 |  Cameroon | 6.8 | 2022 |
| 142 |  Zimbabwe | 6.8 | 2022 |
| 143 |  Russia | 6.8 | 2021 |
| 144 |  Cabo Verde | 7.0 | 2020 |
| 145 |  Kiribati | 7.1 | 2012 |
| 146 |  Barbados | 7.4 | 2023 |
| 147 |  El Salvador | 7.9 | 2022 |
| 148 |  Seychelles | 8.0 | 2022 |
| 149 |  British Virgin Islands | 8.2 | 2006* |
| 150 |  Ethiopia | 8.5 | 2012 |
| 151 |  Peru | 8.6 | 2021 |
| 152 |  Uganda | 9.0 | 2023 |
| 153 |  Papua New Guinea | 9.3 | 2010* |
| 154 |  Iraq | 9.5 | 2013 |
| 155 |  Antigua and Barbuda | 10.7 | 2023 |
| 156 |  Dominican Republic | 10.9 | 2023 |
| 157 |  Uruguay | 11.2 | 2023 |
| 158 |  Namibia | 11.2 | 2021 |
| 159 |  Palau | 11.2 | 2018 |
| 160 |  Nicaragua | 11.3 | 2021 |
| 161 |  Botswana | 11.4 | 2021 |
| 162 |  Panama | 11.7 | 2023 |
| 163 |  Eswatini | 12.5 | 2021 |
| 164 |  Venezuela | 12.6 | 2022 |
| 165 |  Grenada | 13.7 | 2023 |
| 166 |  South Sudan | 14.0 | 2012 |
| 167 |  Puerto Rico (US) | 14.6 | 2023 |
| 168 |  Eritrea | 15.6 | 2012 |
| 169 |  Nigeria | 15.7 | 2023 |
| 170 |  Curacao | 16.9 | 2007* |
| 171 |  Costa Rica | 17.7 | 2023 |
| 172 |  Tuvalu | 18.3 | 2012 |
| 173 |  Guyana | 19.1 | 2023 |
| 174 |  Brazil | 19.3 | 2023 |
| 175 |  Central African Republic | 20.1 | 2016 |
| 176 |  Guatemala | 23.4 | 2023 |
| 177 |  Colombia | 24.9 | 2023 |
| 178 |  Mexico | 24.9 | 2023 |
| 179 |  American Samoa | 25.5 | 2018 |
| 180 |  St. Martin | 26.9 | 2016 |
| 181 |  Dominica | 27.1 | 2023 |
| 182 |  Belize | 28.1 | 2022 |
| 183 |  Honduras | 31.4 | 2023 |
| 184 |  Bahamas | 32.2 | 2022 |
| 185 |  Lesotho | 38.2 | 2008* |
| 186 |  St. Lucia | 39.0 | 2023 |
| 187 |  Trinidad and Tobago | 40.4 | 2022 |
| 188 |  Haiti | 41.2 | 2023 |
| 189 |  South Africa | 43.7 | 2022 |
| 190 |  Ecuador | 45.7 | 2023 |
| 191 |  Jamaica | 49.4 | 2023 |
| 192 |  U.S. Virgin Islands | 49.9 | 2012 |
| 193 |  St. Vincent | 51.3 | 2023 |
| 194 |  St. Kitts and Nevis | 64.2 | 2023 |
| 195 |  Turks and Caicos | 76.3 | 2022 |
The complete list: 195 countries, ranked by intentional-homicide rate (safest first). Each figure is that country's most recent available year — shown in the "Year" column, since homicide data has gaps. An asterisk marks figures older than the freshness threshold. "vs world" is the gap from the global average — a negative value means below the world rate (safer).
Five numbers worth remembering
The same dataset, squeezed into the facts people actually retell.
The lowest homicide rate on record — 0.1 per 100k in Oman, Singapore and Qatar — is about 763× lower than the most dangerous place
Oman / Singapore / Qatar 0.1 vs world 5.2 per 100k
Among large, developed countries, Japan has the lowest homicide rate — 0.2 per 100k, world rank #4
The Gulf states and East Asia dominate the safest end of the list
4 of the ten safest places are Gulf states — Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait — alongside Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong
A low murder rate is real here; broader "safety" and freedom are wider questions
43 countries record under 1 homicide per 100k — including much of Europe, East Asia and the Gulf
129 of 195 countries sit below the world average of 5.2
76.2 per 100k separates the safest country from the most dangerous — a vast gap in how likely violent death is
Intentional homicide, latest data per country (1994–2023)
What this number really means
World homicide rate, → 2023 (per 100k)
The world's intentional-homicide rate has hovered around 5.2 per 100,000 (2023), drifting slowly from about 6.9 in 2000. That global average hides enormous variation — from about 0.1 in the safest countries to dozens in the most dangerous.
The intentional-homicide rate — murders per 100,000 people per year — is the single most reliable, internationally comparable measure of lethal violence. Unlike surveys of "how safe do you feel", a body is hard to hide or misreport, so homicide statistics are the backbone of global crime comparisons. That is why this ranking of the safest countries uses homicide, not a broader "safety" score.
But it is a narrow measure, and that is the honest caveat. It counts murder, and nothing else: not war, not terrorism, not traffic deaths, not how free or fair a society is. The very safest places here — Oman, Singapore, Qatar and the other Gulf and East Asian leaders — genuinely have very low murder rates, but several are also tightly controlled societies where "safe" and "free" are not the same thing. And small territories can post a 0.1 on a handful of years with no killings, which says little about the long run.
A low homicide rate is a real, meaningful achievement — most people would rather live where murder is rare — but it is not a full safety verdict. It says nothing about armed conflict, natural disaster, disease, road safety or political repression, and a country can be calm by this measure while being risky or unfree in other ways. For the broader picture, indices like the Global Peace Index and the Numbeo Safety Index fold in conflict, militarization and perceived safety. Read this page as a precise answer to one question — "where is lethal violence rarest?" — and its mirror, the most dangerous countries, as the other side of the very same number.
Known limitations: homicide statistics depend on each country's recording and reporting, so places with weak or opaque criminal-justice systems may undercount; the data year differs by country and some figures are several years old; small populations produce volatile rates that can swing to 0.1 on a few years with no killings; and definitions of "intentional homicide" can vary at the margins between war deaths, self-defense and manslaughter. Treat every figure as a well-sourced estimate, not an exact count.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has the lowest homicide rate?
By intentional-homicide rate, Oman, Singapore and Qatar are the safest on record — each about 0.1 per 100,000, per World Bank / UNODC data. Among large, developed countries, Japan has the lowest, at about 0.2 per 100,000. The world average is 5.2, so the safest countries are roughly 50 times below it.
Does the lowest homicide rate mean these are the safest countries to live in?
Not entirely — this is the key caveat. This ranks the intentional-homicide rate, which measures lethal violence within a population. A low rate genuinely means murder is rare, but "safety" in a broad sense also depends on war, terrorism, road deaths, disaster, disease and political freedom, none of which this counts. Several countries with very low homicide rates are also highly restrictive societies. Read it as "lowest murder rate", not a complete verdict on where it is safest to live.
What exactly does the homicide rate measure?
It counts intentional homicides — unlawful killings inflicted on purpose — per 100,000 people per year. It excludes deaths from war and armed conflict, terrorism, and accidents such as road crashes, and it does not include non-lethal crime like theft or assault. It is the most internationally comparable measure of lethal violence, which is why global safety and crime rankings are built on it.
Why does the data year differ between countries?
Because homicide reporting has gaps — not every country publishes every year. To keep the list as complete as possible, each country is shown at its most recent available year, which ranges from 1994 to 2023 across this ranking. The year is shown in every row so you can see how current each figure is; older figures are flagged.
Which regions are the safest by this measure?
The lowest homicide rates cluster in the Gulf — Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait — and in East Asia, led by Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong, with much of Europe close behind. In all, 43 countries record under 1 homicide per 100,000. These are real, low murder rates, though broader "safety" varies country to country.
How is this different from the Global Peace Index or Numbeo Safety Index?
This page ranks one hard, comparable number — the intentional-homicide rate — from World Bank / UNODC data. The Global Peace Index and Numbeo Safety Index are broader, composite measures that fold in armed conflict, militarization, political terror and perceived safety, using different methodologies. They answer a wider question about "safety" and "peace"; we link to them but do not reproduce their scores. Use this page for the murder rate specifically.
How many countries are in this ranking?
This page ranks 195 countries and territories for which the World Bank reports an intentional-homicide rate, using the most recent available year for each, safest first. Countries reported at exactly zero were excluded as likely data gaps. Homicide data has gaps, so coverage is a little lower than for indicators like population or GDP, but it spans nearly every country with a reporting system.
More, by numbers
Sources & further reading
Every figure on this page traces back to the same primary dataset, refreshed from the World Bank API.
- World Bank — Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) (VC.IHR.PSRC.P5)primary dataset
- World Bank Indicators API — VC.IHR.PSRC.P5, all countrieslive API
- Vision of Humanity — Global Peace Index (broader safety & peace picture)broader safety index
- World Bank Open Data — public licenses (CC BY 4.0)license
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