Ninety per cent of adults feel safe walking alone at night in Bahrain and four neighbouring Gulf states, a new study has found.
Gallup’s 2025 Global Safety Report: A Safer World in Unsafe Times? is compiled based on samples from adults aged 15 and older in 144 countries and territories in 2024.
The results are based on telephone or face-to-face surveys of approximately 1,000 or more respondents in each country or territory.
The report finds that 73pc 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.
Bahrain is ranked by residents among the safest, alongside other Gulf countries, for walking alone at night
GCC countries dominate the Top 10 Safest List. This includes Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE. Safety ratings in each of these countries exceed 90pc.
Qatar is not covered in the report.
Gallup partnered with the Centre on International Co-operation (CIC) at New York University to produce the latest report which was released recently.
The UAE and Kuwait both have a Law-and-Order score of 88 out of 100, followed by Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia (at 91).
Bahrain scored 91 out of 100 in the Law and Order score of the new report that covers 144 countries and territories
In the Safe to Walk Alone at Night (residents who said yes) score parameter, Oman scored 94pc, Saudi Arabia 93pc, Bahrain and Kuwait both 91pc and the UAE 90pc.
“Gallup has consistently found high levels of perceived night-time safety in the GCC, a trend likely driven by more than just low crime rates,” according to the report.
“In many GCC countries, a shared emphasis on security, enforcement and visible state presence helps foster a pervasive sense of safety among residents,” said the report.
“Relatively high levels of perceived safety are also common in economically advanced countries with strong rule of law and low levels of interpersonal violence.
“In these environments, public safety is often supported by formal legal structures and widespread trust in institutions.”
Countries with the largest gender gaps in the percentage of adults who feel safe walking alone at night
Singapore once again ranked at No 1 globally for perceived safety, with 98pc of residents saying they feel safe walking alone at night. This marks the 12th time Singapore has topped Gallup’s global list.
In contrast, South Africa reported the lowest safety perception in the world, with just 33pc of adults feeling safe, while neighbouring countries Lesotho and Botswana followed closely at 34pc.
In the US, 71pc of adults said they feel safe walking at night, which aligns with ratings in the past several years.
Still, the US has one of the largest gender disparities among high-income nations, states the report. Fifty-eight per cent of women reported feeling safe, compared with 84pc of men – a 26-point gender gap.
Overall last year, more than a quarter of adults globally (27pc) said they do not feel safe walking alone at night in their communities.
“Women continue to be disproportionately affected; 32pc of women said they do not feel safe, compared with 21pc of men.
The cover of the report
“This disparity underscores the ongoing need for investment in addressing all forms of violence, particularly gender-based violence and threats to safety in vulnerable or underserved areas.”
Despite the above challenges, globally, 67pc of women said they feel safe walking alone at night, compared with 78pc of men as there was improvement since 2006.
In 104 out of 144 countries and territories, the difference between men and women who feel safe walking alone at night was at least 10 points, highlighting how deeply entrenched this divide remains.
Another statistic that stands out in the report shows that 7pc of men said they had been the victims of assault in the past year, compared with 5pc of women.
While men are more likely to be victims of lethal violence in public, rates of reported non-lethal violence are much closer between genders, the report says.
In addition to asking about people’s feelings of safety, Gallup asked three questions about people’s confidence in their local police and their personal experiences with assault and theft in the past year.
In 2024, 71pc of adults worldwide expressed confidence in their police; almost one in eight (12pc) said they had property stolen from them or another household member in the past year; and 6pc said they were assaulted or mugged.
“Even amid conflict and uncertainty, people around the world are building safer communities from the ground up,” said Gallup chief executive officer Jon Clifton.
“These findings show that safety isn’t only the absence of violence, it’s the presence of trust, institutions and collective resilience.
“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 CIC Programme director Daniel Friedman.
“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.”
sandy@gdnmedia.bh
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