73% of adults feel safe walking alone at night; wide gender and regional gaps remain
WASHINGTON, Sept. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In a year marked by unprecedented global conflict, more people reported feeling safe 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 in 2006.
Safety Gains in Several Regions
Gains in Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa largely drove the increase. Latin America and the Caribbean reached a milestone: for the first time, 50% of residents now say they feel safe walking at night.
"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."
Singapore Leads World in Safety
Singapore ranked No. 1 globally for perceived safety, with 98% of residents saying they feel safe walking alone at night. This marks the 12th time Singapore has topped the list. In contrast, South Africa reported the lowest safety perception in the world, with just 33% of adults feeling safe. Neighboring countries Lesotho and Botswana followed closely at 34%.
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.
GCC Countries Dominate Top 10 Safest List
Five of the 10 countries with the highest safety perceptions in 2024 were members of the Gulf Cooperation Council: Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Safety ratings in each of these countries exceed 90%.
New Partnership Brings Data and Policy Together
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. Together, the organizations highlight how local-level efforts, strong institutions and targeted policies can improve safety across all regions.
"Gallup's findings confirm what we often see in our research: even amid rising conflict, people's sense of safety is deeply connected to their local communities," said Daniel Friedman, Program Director at CIC. "Understanding what makes people feel safe—and how decision makers can work together to foster that sense of security—is essential to creating more resilient and peaceful societies, and it shows that positive change is possible."
About Gallup
Gallup delivers analytics and advice to help leaders and organizations solve their most pressing problems. Combining more than 80 years of experience with its global reach, Gallup knows more about the attitudes and behaviors of the world's constituents than any other organization.
About NYU's Center on International Cooperation (CIC)
The Center on International Cooperation (CIC) at NYU is a think tank and research center that, for over two decades, has been a leader in applied policy, connecting politics, security, justice, development, and humanitarian issues.
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