Top 10 · safety
Top 10 countries by police officers
Police personnel per 100,000 population. UNODC criminal justice statistics data, each country's latest year, 2010–2023, covering 106 countries. Ranked biggest first.
The top 10
1st of 106 · 2015
Vatican City25,350 per 100k
- 2ndSaint Vincent and the Grenadines975 per 100k
- 3rdSaint Kitts and Nevis922 per 100k
- 4thMaldives896 per 100k
- 5thUruguay894 per 100k
- 6thGrenada840 per 100k
- 7thMauritius833 per 100k
- 8thArgentina802 per 100k
- 9thDominica756 per 100k
- 10thBahamas673 per 100k
The other end · bottom 5 of 106
- 102ndChile67 per 100k
- 103rdMadagascar33 per 100k
- 104thCameroon18 per 100k
- 105thGuatemala12 per 100k
- 106thRwanda5 per 100k
Where the big countries land
- 81stUnited States202 per 100k
- 97thIndia134 per 100k
- 62ndGermany312 per 100k
- 74thBrazil245 per 100k
Common questions
Questions people ask about police officers
Which country ranks highest for police officers?
Vatican City ranks 1st of 106 countries at 25,350 per 100k (2015 data). Source: UNODC criminal justice statistics.
Which countries are in the top 10 for police officers?
The top 10 are Vatican City, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Maldives, Uruguay, Grenada, Mauritius, Argentina, Dominica and Bahamas — computed from UNODC criminal justice statistics data, each country's latest year, 2010–2023.
Where does the United States rank in police officers?
The United States ranks 81st of 106 countries at 202 per 100k (2021 data). Source: UNODC criminal justice statistics.
What is the median police officers worldwide?
Across the 106 countries covered, the median is 334 per 100k. Values run from 25,350 per 100k (Vatican City, ranked 1st) to 5 per 100k (Rwanda, ranked 106th).
Is police officers higher in Europe or the US?
The median across 43 European countries is 350 per 100k, against 202 per 100k in the United States — it is higher in Europe. Source: UNODC criminal justice statistics.
Which country ranks lowest for police officers?
Rwanda sits at the other end of the list: 5 per 100k ranks 106th of 106 (2013 data). Source: UNODC criminal justice statistics.
Keep ranking
Keep exploring
More on safety
- Homicide rateDeaths by assault per 100,000 population.
- Gun deathsFirearm deaths per 100,000 population, all intents (homicide, suicide, accident).
- Incarceration ratePeople held in prison per 100,000 population.
- Road deathsRoad traffic fatalities per 100,000 population.
- Robbery ratePolice-recorded robberies per 100,000 population.
- Life expectancyPeriod life expectancy at birth.
Who leads the world
- Monacotops life expectancy86.5 years
- Singaporetops homicide rate0.1 per 100k
- Bulgariatops paid maternity leave59 weeks
Vatican City leads on police officers — see where it lands on every other measure, and which US state it most resembles.
From the blog: WHO, UNODC, and the problem of counting deaths
All 68 measures →Every country ranked →Every US state →All the Top 10s →The overall board →How we read the data →