Rape Statistics By Country

1 in 3 women (736 million) experience physical or sexual violence, with 91% of victims being women and 99% of perpetrators being men. Also, intimate partner violence is the most prevalent form of violence against women, only 6% of women report having been sexually assaulted by someone other than their spouse or partner.

Young women face the greatest risk, with the ages of 12–34 representing the most vulnerable years. Compared to women outside this age range, those aged 18–24 experience sexual violence at a rate of 4.3 per 1,000. 79.6% of female rape victims experienced their first rape before the age of 25, with 42.2% before the age of 18.

Massive under-reporting persists globally, with research estimating that only 21.4% of rape/sexual assault incidents were reported to the police in 2022 in the US. Barriers to reporting include emotional factors (shame, guilt, embarrassment), fear-based concerns (fear of not being believed, fear of retaliation), and systemic barriers (inadequate police response, victim-blaming attitudes).

Vulnerable populations show disproportionately high rates. LGBTQ+ individuals face a 6 times higher risk than the heterosexual population, women with disabilities have a 4 times higher risk than women without disabilities, and indigenous women have a 2 times higher risk, being 41% committed by a stranger. Also, technology creates new vectors for sexual violence. According to a 2025 study, the overall victimization rate of 67.9% for technology-facilitated sexual violence, with LGBQ individuals reporting significantly higher rates (84.5%).

Our data comes from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, based on the most recent information recorded on rape by each country. Although it is important to know that definitions based on consent versus force produce different statistics, since data collection systems are different between countries due to different legal systems, registration practices, and statistical conventions. These differences in definitions can lead to misinterpretation. For example, Sweden saw a 75% increase in convictions after implementing a consent-based law in 2018. Since then, Denmark (December 2020), Spain (September 2022), and Finland (January 2023) adopted consent-based definitions, contributing to an increase in reported statistics compared to if they had used narrower measures.

Botswana has the highest rape rate in the world at 9.63 per 100,000. Switzerland ranks 2nd with 9.46. Moldova holds 3rd position at 9.42. Lesotho comes in 4th with 8.97. Uruguay takes 5th place at 8.94. Sweden ranks 6th with 8.44. Bangladesh follows in 7th at 7.98. Sri Lanka occupies 8th position with 7.94. Singapore ranks 9th at 7.53. Eswatini completes the top 10 with 7.52.

Top 10 Countries With Highest Rape Statistics

Lebanon has the lowest rape rate globally at 0.02 per 100,000 population. Dominica ranks 2nd lowest with 0.09. Saudi Arabia and Spain both tie for 3rd at 0.10 each. Egypt and Burundi share 5th position with 0.11. Slovenia comes in 7th at 0.12. Bahamas takes 8th place with 0.14. Syria follows in 9th at 0.15. Palestine completes the bottom 10 with 0.17.

Top 10 Countries With Lowest Rape Statistics