Law and Order Index 2022: Pakistan Is Safer Than Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka
By Riaz Haq
CA

Gallup Law and Order Survey 2021 shows that Pakistan (score 82) is safer than Bangladesh (79), India (80) and Sri Lanka (80).  Gallup’s survey is based on responses to four questions to measure “people’s sense of personal security and their personal experiences with crime and law enforcement”. 

The questions are as follows: 1) In the city or area where you live, do you have confidence in the local police force?; 2) Do you feel safe walking alone at night in the city or area where you live?; 3) Within the last 12 months, have you had money or property stolen from you or another household member?; 4) Within the past 12 months, have you been assaulted or mugged?  Gallup interviewed 127,000 people in 120 countries to compile the report.

 

Gallup Law and Order Survey results 2022- Gallup

The survey, conducted by global analytics firm Gallup, ranks Singapore, Tajikistan, Norway, Switzerland and Indonesia as the safest countries in the world.  It ranks Sierra Leone, DR Congo, Venezuela, Gabon and Afghanistan as the least secure countries. 

Safety and  quality of life  global surveys at the city level regularly done by Numbeo support the findings of Gallup Law and Order Survey.  Numbeo  surveys are based on responses received from its website visitors.  Numbeo filters "surveys to eliminate potential spam, like people entering a large amount of data which are differentiating from the median value".

Numbeo's Quality of Life Index captures purchasing power, cost of living, housing, health care, safety, traffic congestion and environmental pollution. The Pakistani capital of Islamabad ranks higher than New Delhi, Mumbai, London and New York in terms of safety and quality of life. 

 

Safety score of selected cities - Numbeo

In terms of safety in South Asia region, Islamabad (50) ranks the highest followed by Lahore (103), Colombo (110), Chennai (112), Hyderabad (130), Mumbai (140),  Karachi  (188), Bangalore (200), New Delhi (216) and Dhaka (232). 

quality of life scores and rankings of selected cities - Numbeo

On quality of life in  South Asia , Islamabad ranks 144 followed by  Bangalore 167, Hyderabad 195, Chennai 218, Lahore 219, Karachi 237, New Delhi 239, Mumbai 246, Colombo 251 and Dhaka 252. 

In 2019,  India  was ranked as the fifth most dangerous country in the world for expats, according to  media reports . In a survey — Expat Insider 2019 — that covered and interviewed people who live and work abroad, India has been placed at 60 of 64 countries on safety and security. According to the survey which was conducted by InterNations, over four men in ten respondents reported negative feelings about the peacefulness in the country and 27% were displeased with their personal safety — three times the global average of 9%. “A US American expat, for example, does not like “always having to keep my guard up — as a female, I don’t feel safe. As a resident, I often feel taken advantage of at work and outside work,” the survey said. The expats also rated negatively to the question of political stability in India. “Almost double the global average (32% vs 17% worldwide) rate the political stability of the country negatively. An Australian expat shares that ‘politics has become hardline, and there are social tensions’,” the survey found.

(Riaz Haq is a Silicon Valley-based Pakistani-American analyst and writer. He blogs at  www.riazhaq.com )