The countries with the highest rates of kidnap are those with weak security infrastructures, high levels of impunity and economic disparity, such as Mexico, Venezuela and Nigeria, and those experiencing prolonged conflicts, such as Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan.
Countries with the highest rates
In 2018 the UN found Pakistan and England had the highest amount of kidnappings while New Zealand had the highest rate among the 70 countries for which data is available.
By far, the most frequent form of kidnapping is abduction by a parent or family member. Today, over one quarter of a million such cases are reported annually to the authorities. Many of these are minor episodes—often misunderstandings or disagreements over custody, and they are short term.
Phoenix, Arizona has become the kidnapping capital of America, with more incidents than any other city in the world outside of Mexico City and over 370 cases last year alone.
Children under the age of 6 are most frequently targeted for family abductions and these often occur in the midst of bitter divorce or child custody battles between parents.
The average value for Canada during that period was 11.5 kidnappings per 100,000 people with a minimum of 9.2 kidnappings per 100,000 people in 2013 and a maximum of 14.2 kidnappings per 100,000 people in 2008. The latest value from 2017 is 10.3 kidnappings per 100,000 people.
Almost all kids kidnapped by strangers are taken by men, and about two thirds of stranger abductions involve female children. Most abducted kids are in their teens.
Kidnapping rate - Country rankings
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.
What are the odds of a child being kidnapped? The chances of a child getting kidnapped aren't as high as people may think. They are 1 in 300,000. However, abduction can increase if a child is of non-white ethnicity, a girl, or lives in a foster home.
The four Americans -- Eric James Williams, Zindell Brown and cousins Latavia "Tay" McGee and Shaeed Woodard -- drove the morning of March 3 into Matamoros, Mexico, which is in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas just south of Brownsville, Texas.
Traffickers tend to pick their targets from among the economically and socially vulnerable members of society because those individuals are likely desperate, unstable, already used to abuse, and don't have anyone advocating for them.
The principal motives for kidnapping are to subject the victim to some form of involuntary servitude, to expose him to the commission of some further criminal act against his person, or to obtain ransom for his safe release.
On July 1, 1874 two little boys were abducted in front of their family's mansion. It was the first kidnapping for ransom in the history of the United States, and would be the major event of its kind until the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. The boys were named Charley and Walter Ross; they were 4 and 6 years old.
Hostage and kidnap survivors can experience stress reactions including denial, impaired memory, shock, numbness, anxiety, guilt, depression, anger, and a sense of helplessness. Freedom almost always brings a sense of elation and relief.
On July 15, 1976, 26 school children and their bus driver from Chowchilla, California, were kidnapped and buried alive in this tractor trailer.
Kidnapping and abduction poses great threat to the life of the victim and, as well as, endless mental agony to both victim and their family members. Primary reason for the seriousness of this crime is that it leads to various other crimes and most common victims are the children and women.
10. Teenagers (aged 12 or older) accounted for 81% of kidnapping victims. Nonfamily and stereotypical kidnappings of 12-year-olds or older were the most common in missing child cases.
Madeleine Beth McCann (born 12 May 2003) is a British missing person who disappeared from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal on the evening of 3 May 2007, at the age of 3. The Daily Telegraph described the disappearance as "the most heavily reported missing-person case in modern history".
In 2021, Canada ranked as the 4th safest country in the world by U.S. News. Canada's high position on the index sits alongside Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. Canada's ranking is 14 spots before the United Kingdom, and 34 spots ahead of the United States.
These include: sexual violations against children, assault (level 1 and 2), homicide, extortion, harassing and threatening behaviours, and violent firearm violations. Overall, the Violent CSI increased 5% in 2021 to 92.5. This follows a 3% drop in 2020, after five years of increases.
Between 2002 and 2004, Ariel Castro kidnapped Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Gina DeJesus from the streets of Cleveland, Ohio and later held them captive in his home of 2207 Seymour Avenue in the city's Tremont neighborhood.
The data, based on a psychological assessment of risk personality, shows that 19% of females were found to be Wary compared to 7% of males, while 15% were Prudent in contrast to 9% of men.
Kidnapping is among the most severe charges you can face in Canada. Often paired with assault or aggravated assault charges, jail time can range from as low as four years in prison to a life sentence.