Despite geopolitical conflicts and wars, more and more people around the world are feeling safe in their everyday lives. Gallup’s Global Safety Report 2025 reports the highest level of people feeling safe since the survey began.
Every year, the Gallup Group asks people in more than 140 countries if they feel safe walking alone at night. They are also asked about their trust in the local police and whether they have been attacked anytime in the past year. The aim is to assess their subjective sense of safety.
The latest results show that despite numerous international conflicts and wars, more people feel safe than ever before. In 2024, 73% of adults surveyed worldwide reported feeling safe walking alone at night, the highest figure since Gallup began conducting the research in 2006.
Singapore and Gulf states rank at the top again
Singapore was at the top of the ranking for the twelfth time in the current survey. 98% of respondents there feel safe, setting a new record. Gulf states such as Kuwait and Bahrain also performed well, with more than 90% of respondents feeling safe.
In Germany, 78% of adults say they feel safe outside at night. South Africa is the country with the lowest ranking, where only 33% of adults feel safe outdoors alone, and where, among women, the figure is lower yet, at 25%.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, half of those surveyed reported feeling safe walking at night for the first time. A city that exemplifies this change is Niterói in Brazil. Niterói is part of the ‘Peace in Our Cities’ network, a global alliance of cities and organisations working to combat serious violence. Pacto Niterói Contra a Violência, a security initiative in Niterói, combines community violence prevention measures with targeted security work. The local police work closely with the city administration, and education and urban development programmes are underway with the aim of preventing violence. The results are remarkable: after six years, the number of murders in Niterói has fallen by 69%, and the number of other violent crimes by more than 80%.
Large differences between men and women
Despite this positive development, the gender gap remains wide: in 104 of the countries surveyed, women reported feeling significantly less safe than men. The figures can differ greatly, particularly in Western industrialised countries. In the US, for instance, 58% of women reported feeling safe outside, compared to 84% of men.
In Germany, one project that is working to improve women’s sense of safety is “Nightwalks” in Emsland. Self-defence instructor Gaby Bothe accompanies groups of women on night-time walks, talks to them about their fears, and teaches them techniques for defending themselves. On the other hand, Hamburg’s main train station is an example that demonstrates how concrete measures can improve both the perception of safety and the objective security situation. As recently as 2023, Hamburg Central Station was considered the most dangerous place in Germany, with more violent crimes than anywhere else in the country. However, after the introduction of a ban on weapons and alcohol, as well as other preventative measures, by 2025, the number of violent crimes had fallen by 25%.
“Even in the midst of conflict and uncertainty, people around the world are building safer communities from the ground up,” says Jon Clifton, CEO of Gallup, in summarising the global situation. “These findings show that safety means not only the absence of violence, but also the presence of trust, institutions, and collective resilience.”
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