Rwanda has been ranked first in Sub-Saharan Africa among the countries where a person can walk alone at night and still feel safe.
This finding is part of the Gallup Global Safety Report 2025, an annual survey that measures people’s sense of safety and confidence in their security.
In the category assessing how safe people feel when walking alone at night, Rwanda scored 78 percent, placing it ahead of major nations such as the United Kingdom (76%) and France (73%). Globally, Rwanda ranks 38th.
The United States came behind Rwanda, ranking 61st worldwide with a score of 71 percent.
The report shows that 78 percent of Rwandan adults surveyed said they feel safe walking alone in their country at night.
Across Africa, Rwanda and Algeria both came in second place, behind Egypt, which scored 82 percent.
In the East African region, Tanzania scored 68 percent, Uganda 48 percent, while Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) each scored 47 percent. Burundi was not included in the countries surveyed.
The Gallup study covered 144 countries, where citizens were asked about their confidence in public safety, peace, and their sense of freedom of movement.
Globally, Singapore ranked first with a score of 98 percent, followed by Tajikistan (95%), China (94%), Oman (94%), and Saudi Arabia (93%).
In Europe, Norway ranked first with 91 percent, followed by Denmark (89%), Finland (88%), Iceland (88%), and Switzerland (88%).
At the bottom of the global ranking were South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Eswatini.
The high level of safety Rwandans enjoy is linked to the strong trust they have in their country’s security institutions, according to a survey conducted by the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) on November 15, 2024.
That study found that the security organs are highly trusted by citizens:
• Reserve Forces (Inkeragutabara) – trusted by 76.6%
• District Administration Security Support Organ (DASSO) – 86.1%
• Rwanda National Police – 97.1%
• Rwanda Defense Force (RDF) – 99%
The Gallup report’s findings are consistent with those of the Rule of Law Index Report 2024, which also ranked Rwanda among Africa’s safest countries due to its strong adherence to the rule of law.
From 2021 to 2024, Rwanda has maintained a leading position both in Africa and globally. In 2023, it ranked 27th worldwide, the same position it held in 2022, up from 33rd in 2021.
