Today's Edition
ISIDORA CIRIC (ABU DHABI)
For the UAE, safety isn't a seasonal win - it's a long game, as the country has once again been named the world's second safest in Numbeo's latest Safety Index by Country, extending a three-year streak near the top of global rankings.
This year's score marks a slight uptick from last year and maintains the UAE's position in second place, where it has remained since 2022. The only country to outrank the UAE in this year's report, published on Tuesday, was Andorra, with a score of 84.7. The report's top 20 list was dominated by GCC countries, with Qatar in third, Oman fifth, Saudi Arabia 14th, and Bahrain 16th.
Alongside its safety ranking, this year's report also placed the UAE second on Numbeo's corresponding Crime Index 2025, with a score of just 15.5 - the lower the score, the lower the perceived crime. Scores under 20 are considered "very low".
Numbeo's Safety Index is based on tens of thousands of user-submitted surveys rating how safe they feel, how worried they are about crimes ranging from burglary to assault, how common they believe these incidents are, and whether they feel comfortable walking alone during the day or at night.
To ensure the results aren't skewed, the researchers have developed a system that identifies and filters out responses that are inconsistent and exhibit spam-like behaviour. Final scores are then converted into a scale from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating safer environments. The data is also continuously updated, drawing on inputs collected within the last 36 months leading up to the analysis.
While the results aren't drawn from police data, they are a strong indicator of public sentiment, and in the UAE's case, that sentiment has been remarkably steady year-on-year. This consistency was also evident earlier in the year, when its capital, Abu Dhabi, was named the world's safest city for the ninth consecutive year by Numbeo's Safety Index by City, published in January.
