15 Countries with Most Robberies and Highest Theft Rates in the World

Take a look at the list of countries with most robberies and highest theft rates in the world – it’s like the Wild West out there.

Some countries are clearly safer than others when you’re out and about, and while the crime rates are far more complicated and include more aspects, the number of robberies and thefts taking place in any one nation should be taken into consideration when traveling, especially since tourists are often targeted. So, wondering which country has the highest theft rate? Well, the UN office on drugs and crime has the answer to that, and it might very well surprise you because it’s Sweden. The data the UN has is from 2014, but it’s still relevant. That year, Sweden saw 3,972 thefts per 100,000 people. At the other end of the spectrum, we have the countries with the lowest theft rates, such as the Vatican. Here, even if such things happen, they do so seldom.

The list of countries by robbery rate, however, is led by another European nation that you wouldn’t really expect to see on such a list – Belgium, which, in 2014, reported 1,529 robberies per 100,000 people. When it comes to movie scenarios, you should know that there is no country with most bank robberies, because those happen mostly in TV shows and movies and even if they do happen in real life, they’re nowhere near what you see in Hollywood flicks. When it comes to the number of burglaries per capita by country, however, the “crown” is taken by Israel, which saw over 1,800 incidents per 100,000 people.

There are many, many types of crimes aside theft, robberies, and burglaries, so many wonders just which country has the highest drug rate. Well, that’s a bit harder to calculate, but Afghanistan led one of our lists regarding the nations that produce the most illegal drugs in the world. What about which country has the highest embezzlement rate? Well, NationMaster data indicates that it’s Germany, at the very least when it comes to the amount. You might also be interested in reading up about the countries with the highest rates of identity theft in the world, or the countries with the most hackers and cyber criminals. If you’re planning on relocating, taking into account which are the most dangerous countries for expats might also do you good.

So, in order to create our list today, we checked out data from the UN regarding both robberies by country and theft by country. All numbers represent incidents per 100,000 people. We ranked them by the numbers, too, offering points to each country – the fewer points a nation got, the worst the situation. We then cross-checked the data and made up the final list. That being said, here are the countries with most robberies and highest theft rates in the world.

15. Paraguay

Score: 42

Paraguay is next on our list, a country with just 6.7 million people. The nation saw some 307 cases of robbery per 100,000 people and 581 incidents of theft per 100,000 people. On the robberies list, Paraguay ranks sixth among all nations.

14. Australia

Score: 42

First on our list is Australia, a country where we’ve seen quite a bit of criminal activity. For instance, the latest data available shows that Australia saw 2,054 cases of theft for every 100,000 people, and just 42 cases of robbery, indicating that petty theft is something this country’s small criminals are more drawn to, rather than big productions.

13. Portugal

Score: 41

The first European country on our list is Portugal, a nation where there have been reported numerous cases of theft from tourists. While robberies seem to be something Portugal’s criminals are into, since there were some 150 per 100,000 people in 2014, there were 875 thefts for the same population.

12. Malta

Score: 41

Up next is the very small nation of Malta, a country with just 436,000 citizens. They saw about 46 robberies per 100,000 citizens and 1,963 cases of theft, indicating that when the tourists arrive, it’s high season. Therefore, if you plan on visiting, you should enjoy the views but also make sure to keep a hand on your wallet.

11. Denmark

Score: 41

Next up on our list of countries with most robberies and highest theft rates in the world is Denmark. It really seems that Europe is popular on this chart, but that may also be because the law enforcement agencies here often report the data on this kind of incidents. Denmark saw 3,026 thefts per 100,000 people in 2014, the fourth highest in the world. It also saw 41 robberies per 100,000 citizens. It should be mentioned the country has a population of 5.7 million.

10. Switzerland

Score: 36

Switzerland may be a small-ish nation with its 8.3 million citizens, but it seems it has a rather active crime force. Data from the UN shows that Switzerland had 49 cases of robbery per 100,000 people in 2014. It also saw 1,478 cases of theft per the same number of people in that same year.

9. USA

Score: 29

The United States is notorious for the number of theft and robberies. Given the nation’s large population, however, those numbers are somewhat diluted. On the list of the most thefts per country, USA ranks 13th, with 1,834 cases per 100,000 residents. The nation also ranks 16th on the robberies list with 102 incidents per 100,000 citizens. A reminder that the United States has over 320 million citizens.

8. Italy

Score: 29

Next up on our list is Italy, home to some 60 million people, and a name that’s often associated with another – “mafia.” Many movies have been made and books are written to portray this type of criminal activity. Those times are, however, gone to some extent and petty theft is in. In fact, Italy ranks 11th on the global list, with 1,876 cases for every 100,000 people. There were also 98 cases of robbery per 100,000 people, too. It’s hard to tell how fresher data would look like, but 2014 seems like it was a really active year in Italy on all sides.

7. Chile

Score: 28

Moving across the Ocean to South America where we find Chile and its nearly 18 million citizens. The country’s criminal activity seems to be quite high, as the UN reports 1,082 cases of theft per 100,000 residents in 2014. When it comes to robberies, however, that number makes Chile rank third among all countries in the world – 599 robberies per 100,000 people. That’s over 100,000 incidents.

6. Luxembourg

Score: 27

Were we gone from Europe for too long? Because Luxembourg is up next, complete with its tiny population of 582,000 citizens. Nonetheless, Luxembough ranked twelfth on the list of countries with the most thefts with 1,843 cases per 100,000 people. The nation also saw some 111 robberies for every 100,000 people, making for a rather high incident rate.

5. Netherlands

Score: 25

Next up on the list of countries with most robberies and highest theft rates in the world, we have the Netherlands. Folks in the Netherlands seems to have been somewhat “forgiven” by criminals as they only had 61 cases of robbery per 100,000 people in 2014. The theft rate, however, was much higher, with 3,480 incidents for every 100,000 people, making the Netherlands rank second in the world.

4. Sweden

Score: 20

Sweden, a country with just under 10 million citizens, ranks next on our list of countries with most robberies and highest theft rates in the world. When it comes to thefts, Sweden takes the crown with 3,972 cases per 100,000 people – the most in the world. The nation also saw 86 cases of robbery for every 100,000 citizens that same year, so the organized crime was quite active.

3. France

Score: 18

Next up on our list of countries with most robberies and highest theft rates in the world is France, a nation that’s almost always full of tourists, which are frequently targeted by thieves. The nation saw 178 robberies per 100,000 citizens, data shows, as well as 1,970 cases of theft per the same amount of people. France has nearly 67 million citizens.

2. Belgium

Score: 11

On the second place on our list of countries with most robberies and highest theft rates in the world, we find Belgium, a country with just 11.3 million citizens. The heart of the European Union seems to be quite riddled with thieves. The country ranks tenth among the nations with the most thefts, with 1,910 per 100,000 people. When it comes to robberies, however, you really don’t want to live in Belgium as the country’s 2014 stats indicate it has more such incidents than any other nation in the list, namely 1,529 per 100,000 people.

1. Uruguay

Score: 8

Finally, at the top of the list of the countries with most robberies and highest theft rates in the world, we have Uruguay, a nation of South America. The country has just 3.4 million citizens, but it seems to really have a problem with thieves. The 543 robberies per 100,000 citizens registered in Uruguay put the country on the fifth place on this list. Furthermore, ranking third, Uruguay had 3,096 thefts per 100,000 people in 2014, which also brought it to the top of our own list.

That being said, these have been the countries with most robberies and highest theft rates in the world.