The average for 2017 based on 65 countries was 1.8 kidnappings per 100,000 people. The highest value was in Belgium: 10.3 kidnappings per 100,000 people and the lowest value was in Bermuda: 0 kidnappings per 100,000 people. The indicator is available from 2003 to 2017. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

There were approximately ***** child abduction offences recorded by the police in England and Wales in 2023/24, an increase when compared with the previous year.

While the fear of being kidnapped may persist for one’s entire life, in 2022 the number of missing persons under the age of 21 was much higher than those 21 and over, with 206,371 females under 21 reported missing, and 64,956 females over the age of 21 reported missing.

Why people go missing

There are many reasons why people go missing; some are kidnapped, some purposefully go missing - in order to escape abuse, for example - and some, usually children, are runaways. What persists in the imagination when thinking of missing persons, however, are kidnapping victims, usually due to extensive media coverage of child kidnappings by the media.

Demographics of missing persons

While the number of missing persons in the United States fluctuates, in 2021, this number was at its lowest since 1990. Additionally, while it has been observed that there is more media coverage in the United States of white missing persons, almost half of the missing persons cases in 2022 were of minorities.

In 2023, the number of missing person files in the United States equaled 563,389 cases, an increase from 2021 which had the lowest number of missing person files in the U.S. since 1990.

In 2023/24 there were 7,277 kidnapping offences recorded by the police in England and Wales, a slight decrease when compared with the previous year when there were 7,378 offences. Kidnapping offences reached a low of 1,388 offences in the 2012/13 reporting year but have been increasing in almost every reporting year since then. Rising crime overall Kidnapping offences have increased at a time of rising overall crime. After declining for several years between 2003/04 and 2010/11, overall crime offences suddenly started to increase, and reached a recent peak of 6.74 million offences in 2022/23. While the overall number of crimes has grown, UK crime rates are actually slightly lower than in the early 2000s, due to population growth. As of 2023/24, the number of crimes per 1,000 people was 89.7 in England and Wales, 55 in Scotland, and 58.4 in Northern Ireland. Money and manpower to blame? The current crime trends that are prevailing in the UK have led to questions about the ability of the police to counter it, and if they have the manpower and resources to do so. For much of the 2010s the police had cuts to their funding leading to a decline in officer numbers, although both trends have recently been reversed, with funding increasing from the late 2010s onwards. Other parts of the justice system, such as legal aid funding have not seen a reversal of this trend, with spending in 2022/23 below that of 2014/15 in real terms.

Canada: Kidnappings per 100,000 people: The latest value from 2017 is 10.3 kidnappings per 100,000 people, a decline from 10.5 kidnappings per 100,000 people in 2016. In comparison, the world average is 1.8 kidnappings per 100,000 people, based on data from 65 countries. Historically, the average for Canada from 2003 to 2017 is 11.5 kidnappings per 100,000 people. The minimum value, 9.2 kidnappings per 100,000 people, was reached in 2013 while the maximum of 14.2 kidnappings per 100,000 people was recorded in 2008.

Australia: Kidnappings per 100,000 people: The latest value from 2017 is 2 kidnappings per 100,000 people, a decline from 2.2 kidnappings per 100,000 people in 2016. In comparison, the world average is 1.8 kidnappings per 100,000 people, based on data from 65 countries. Historically, the average for Australia from 2008 to 2017 is 5.5 kidnappings per 100,000 people. The minimum value, 2 kidnappings per 100,000 people, was reached in 2017 while the maximum of 19.1 kidnappings per 100,000 people was recorded in 2008.

The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of kidnapping and abduction victims reported in 2022 with over 16 thousand victims. Furthermore, there were more than 107 thousand kidnapping and abduction victims in the country that year.

In 2024, there were ** kidnapping incidents that occurred in the Philippines, reflecting an increase from the previous year. The number of kidnapping cases in the country peaked in 2019.

Kidnapping cases in South Africa have reached alarming levels, with a total of 17,061 incidents reported in 2023/2024. This represents an 11 percent increase from the previous year, highlighting a growing concern for public safety across the nation. Gauteng province, home to major cities like Johannesburg and Pretoria, recorded the highest number of kidnappings at 8,683 cases, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 3,329 cases.
Ransom and extortion drive kidnapping surge The rise in kidnappings appears to be driven by organized crime, with ransom-related abductions being the most common motive. In a select sample from the second quarter, 561 kidnappings were linked to ransom demands, while 93 cases were associated with extortion. This trend suggests a quarterly increase in kidnapping incidents, pointing to a persistent and evolving threat to public safety. The Moroka area in Gauteng province reported the highest number of kidnapping offenses, with nearly 240 cases, followed by Orange Farms with over 210 cases. The South African Police Services (SAPS) have reported that most cases were carried out during aggravated robberies such as hijackings and armed robberies at homes, businesses and public areas.
Regional context and broader implications South Africa's kidnapping rate of 9.57 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023 was the highest among countries in Africa, surpassing Benin, which held the second-highest rate. This underscores the severity of the issue within the broader African context. The kidnapping crisis in South Africa occurs against a backdrop of wider regional instability, with countries in the Sahel like Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso experiencing significant conflict exposure, affecting between eight and 14 percent of their populations. In this semi-arid region of west and north-central Africa, kidnappings are used as a strategic warfare tool and perpetrated for financial gain, which proved to be a lucrative method to help fund some of al-Qaeda affiliates located on the continent.

The objective of this survey is to collect baseline information on police personnel and expenditures to enable detection of historical trends as well as permit comparisons at the provincial/territorial and municipal levels. For current Police Administration Survey data refer to Statistics Canada Access data here

Police-reported organized crime, by most serious violation (homicide and attempted murder, assault, sexual violations, kidnapping and hostage taking, human trafficking, robbery and theft, firearm and weapons violations, extortion and criminal harassment, arson, forgery and fraud, child pornography, criminal organization involvement, probation and court violations, drug possession and trafficking, and other violations), Canada (selected police services), 2016 to 2023.

In 2022, more than 83 thousand children in India were missing. In comparison to the previous year, the number of missing children in the country increased significantly. Many of these cases were likely to have close links to human trafficking and child labor.

In 2022, there were 313,017 cases filed by the NCIC where the race of the reported missing was White. In the same year, 18,928 people were missing whose race was unknown.

What is the NCIC?

The National Crime Information Center (NCIC) is a digital database that stores crime data for the United States, so criminal justice agencies can access it. As a part of the FBI, it helps criminal justice professionals find criminals, missing people, stolen property, and terrorists. The NCIC database is broken down into 21 files. Seven files belong to stolen property and items, and 14 belong to persons, including the National Sex Offender Register, Missing Person, and Identify Theft. It works alongside federal, tribal, state, and local agencies. The NCIC’s goal is to maintain a centralized information system between local branches and offices, so information is easily accessible nationwide.

Missing people in the United States

A person is considered missing when they have disappeared and their location is unknown. A person who is considered missing might have left voluntarily, but that is not always the case. The number of the NCIC unidentified person files in the United States has fluctuated since 1990, and in 2022, there were slightly more NCIC missing person files for males as compared to females. Fortunately, the number of NCIC missing person files has been mostly decreasing since 1998.

In 2023, a total of 42,013 homicides were registered in Mexico, over 800 murder victims less than the death toll reported a year earlier. The number of homicides in Mexico, including intentional homicides and cases of manslaughter, grew between 2015 and 2018, before plateauing around 44,000 victims per year.

Kidnapping in Mexico In Mexico, even with a 20 percent reduction in the kidnapping rate, which amounted to 463 reported cases in 2023, the region continues to witness the distressing reality of five individuals being subjected to violent abduction daily. These heinous acts are chiefly perpetrated in various settings, including workplaces, residences, and public areas. Furthermore, the state with the highest recorded kidnapping incidence is Mexico State, marking a significant disparity in numbers. This dire situation positions the country as the third highest in terms of kidnapping occurrences throughout Latin America.

The increasing cases of human trafficking

Regarded as a grievous form of exploitation encompassing coerced labor or sexual servitude, the prevalence of human trafficking in the nation exhibits a disquieting escalation. This trend coincides with a decline in cases involving children, shifting the focus towards teens and adolescents, particularly females, who are now the primary target demographic. Perpetrators manipulate victims through deceitful practices and fraudulent schemes, effectively entrapping them in a web of organized criminal activities that deprive them of their freedom.