The year 2025 has seen a worrying escalation in kidnapping rates worldwide, with new data revealing the countries where abductions are most prevalent.
Both developed and developing nations are grappling with the complex and evolving threat of kidnapping, driven by factors ranging from organised crime and political unrest to economic hardship and familial disputes.
Top ten nations where kidnapping rates are highest in 2025
| Rank | Country | Kidnappings per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Türkiye | 42.669 |
| 2 | Lebanon | 15.384 |
| 3 | Kuwait | 12.690 |
| 4 | Canada | 10.285 |
| 5 | Belgium | 10.245 |
| 6 | South Africa | 9.569 |
| 7 | New Zealand | 9.508 |
| 8 | Pakistan | 9.452 |
| 9 | Eswatini | 9.354 |
| 10 | United Kingdom | 8.835 |
These figures highlight the global reach of the kidnapping epidemic, affecting countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas. Türkiye stands out as the clear leader, with a rate nearly three times higher than the next country on the list.
The countries Türkiye, Lebanon, Kuwait, Canada, Belgium, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan, Eswatini, and the United Kingdom rank among the top ten with the highest kidnapping rates in 2025 due to a combination of distinct social, economic, and political factors that vary by region and country.
Türkiye leads globally with an exceptionally high kidnapping rate (44.669 per 100,000), largely driven by organised crime, political instability in certain regions, and the activities of criminal gangs exploiting economic disparities.
Lebanon and Kuwait experience high kidnapping rates, often linked to political unrest, sectarian tensions, and economic challenges that create environments conducive to ransom kidnappings and politically motivated abductions.
Canada, Belgium, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, despite being developed countries with strong law enforcement, report high kidnapping rates primarily due to parental child abductions in custody disputes, which constitute a significant portion of kidnapping incidents in these countries.
Additionally, there are cases related to human trafficking and criminal activities.
South Africa and Eswatini face kidnapping issues fueled by high crime rates, poverty, and unemployment. In South Africa, kidnappings are often linked to criminal gangs seeking ransom, while political and social instability also contribute.
Pakistan has a long-standing problem with kidnappings driven by a mix of criminal gangs and militant groups. Kidnappings here serve both financial (ransom) and political purposes, with wealthy individuals and expatriates often targeted.
Overall, the high kidnapping rates in these countries reflect a mix of economic factors such as poverty and unemployment that push individuals toward criminal activities; political instability and conflict that create law enforcement vacuums exploited by kidnappers; social factors, including family disputes in developed countries leading to parental abductions; and organized crime and militant activity that use kidnapping as a source of funding or leverage.
This diversity of causes explains why countries as varied as Türkiye and New Zealand both appear in the top rankings, albeit for very different underlying reasons. While not in the top ten by rate, the U.S. leads in absolute numbers, with over 52,000 reported kidnappings in 2022.
South Africa and Nigeria?
South Africa remains the African nation with the highest kidnapping rate, recording 9.57 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023, a figure that continues to rise. Meanwhile, Nigeria faces an unprecedented surge in abductions, with over 2.2 million kidnapping incidents estimated between May 2023 and April 2024.
The majority of these cases occur in rural areas, and a staggering 65% of affected households report paying ransom. The northwest and northeast regions of Nigeria are particularly hard-hit, as bandit groups and insurgents increasingly use kidnapping for ransom as a source of funding and leverage.
