Kuala Lumpur is the third most dangerous city in Southeast Asia and the fifth highest in Asia, according to Numbeo’s Crime Index 2025.
Regardless of ranking, it is important to understand that each country has its own set of criminal laws, and the definitions of crime can vary significantly. Some acts that are considered criminal in one country might not even be classified as crimes in another. For example, getting drunk in public or the use of certain types of drugs might be a criminal offence in some countries but not in others.
Moreover, countries may have different classifications or categorisations of crimes – such as distinguishing between various types of theft, assault and sexual assault, robbery, murder or fraud – which can make cross-country comparisons challenging and difficult.
What is considered a “serious” crime may differ. For instance, the threshold for what constitutes a “violent” crime may be different from one country to another.
This cultural and legal variation means that a country’s ranking on a crime index, based solely on the number of reported crimes or incidents, may not fully reflect the actual safety or danger in that location. Different legal systems may prioritise different types of offences or record them differently.
Crime indexes, like the one from Numbeo, typically provide scores based on user-reported data. The crime index takes into account several of the following factors:
- People’s experiences with crime – whether they’ve been victims or witnesses – influence the scores.
- Perception plays a huge role, which means the sense of fear or security among residents and visitors is factored into the data. For example, a city may have relatively low actual crime rates but could score poorly on a crime index due to a widespread public fear of crime.
Many crime indexes include reported incidents, such as burglaries, robberies, and assaults, but the way these incidents are reported and documented can differ from country to country. Some countries might have higher reporting rates, while others might under-report crimes due to social, cultural, or governmental factors.
It is important to understand and acknowledge that public perception is just as important as actual crime rates. Even in areas where crime rates are statistically low, residents or visitors may feel unsafe. Fear of crime can stem from several factors.
Local, regional, and international news can influence how people perceive crime. The more crime is reported, the greater the fear, even if crime rates aren’t actually rising.
Moreover, different societies may have different thresholds for what they consider “dangerous.” For example, certain types of social unrest or public demonstrations may be seen as dangerous in one culture but simply as forms of expression in another.
Even in low-crime areas, individuals may perceive crime based on personal experiences (e.g. a friend who has been a victim of crime) or the visibility of crime in the media.
Thus, local perception can often exaggerate or downplay the actual threat. This makes the crime index more relevant for identifying how people feel about their safety rather than giving a precise, objective measure of crime.
More importantly, because crime laws differ and public perception plays a significant role, comparing the Crime Index across countries may not be entirely realistic or useful in all cases.
A country with a more robust crime reporting infrastructure might show higher crime rates simply because more crimes are being recorded. Meanwhile, a country with a less efficient reporting system may under-report its crime levels.
Aggregating crime data into a single index can obscure the nuances of different types of crime in different locations. A city with high rates of property crime may be ranked similarly to a city with high rates of violent crime, even though these two types of crimes require very different safety precautions and have different impacts on the local population.
High crime rates in certain cities might be reflective of a few specific areas or neighbourhoods where crime is concentrated. Without knowing the local context (which neighbourhoods, the types of crimes committed, and other socio-political factors), the index can be misleading.
Realistically, rather than focusing solely on a global crime index ranking, it might be more useful to consider assessing public perception of safety and the geographical location of crime incidents.
Another important factor is analysing whether crime is rising or falling within a specific country or region. In addition, are violent crimes increasing, or is property and commercial crime (including scams and cybercrimes) the primary concern? This helps assess how much threat a particular area might pose.
Many cities are improving public safety through community-based programmes, policing reforms, and other initiatives that aren’t reflected in raw crime statistics.
Despite these limitations, crime indexes can still be useful for high-level international comparisons or as a starting point for more detailed analysis. They can help travellers, expats, or businesspeople understand general trends and identify areas where they might need additional precautionary measures, but they should not be viewed as definitive.
Public perception of crime and how people feel about safety is incredibly significant. Crime indexes like Numbeo’s provide valuable insights into how people perceive safety and the trends they experience in their local environments.
However, when comparing crime across countries, it’s essential to be mindful of differences in legal definitions, reporting standards, and how fear of crime can distort public perception. For a fuller understanding, it’s important to balance crime index data with local context, official crime reports, and sociological factors.
While media and cultural factors shape public perception, the accuracy of crime data is equally important.
In some countries, crime reporting can be significantly underrepresented (and/or underreported) due to factors like lack of trust in the police, fear of retaliation, or cultural stigmas. This can lead to inaccurate crime statistics and, consequently, misleading crime index scores.
Conversely, certain countries may have an incentive to over-report crimes in order to show active law enforcement. This is a nuance that can heavily affect how we interpret crime trends from one place to another.
Understanding the extent of reporting bias can help temper our perception of crime index rankings. It’s also why crime statistics from governmental agencies and independent studies (e.g. from NGOs or academic research) can sometimes be more reliable than crowd-sourced data.
Crime indices often aggregate various types of crimes into a single score. However, certain types of crime may disproportionately affect local safety in specific contexts.
Violent crimes, such as assault or murder, typically create a larger sense of fear, even if they are less frequent. On the other hand, property crimes (like theft or burglary) might be more common but don’t always lead to the same level of public fear.
Increasingly, cybercrimes and financial fraud (such as online scams or identity theft) are significant concerns but may not be adequately captured in traditional crime indexes, especially in countries where these crimes are underreported or difficult to track.
Crime often correlates with various socioeconomic factors, such as poverty, inequality, unemployment, and lack of education. These factors may not be immediately apparent in a crime index, but they significantly influence crime trends.
Major global events, such as the Covid-19 pandemic or political upheavals, can alter crime patterns, whether by creating new avenues for criminal activity (such as online scams during lockdowns) or by reducing physical crime due to restrictions. These events can also dramatically shift public perceptions of safety.
It is important to acknowledge that there are complex factors surrounding crime data and safety perceptions.
The relationship between public perception, actual crime data, and social factors is intricate, and taking a holistic approach to understanding this data (looking beyond just crime index rankings) will lead to better safety decisions and policies.
The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer and do not necessarily represent that of Twentytwo13.
