Trust and safety in a society reflect how people feel that their freedom of movement and their property are protected. A high level of personal trust and safety can promote openness and transparency in society, social interaction and cohesion.
Around 70% of people in the Asia/Pacific region and in OECD countries feel safe walking alone at night (Figure 7.7). However, there is a gender gap as women report feeling less safe walking alone at night in all countries. The gender gap represents close to or less than 5 percentage points in Macau (China), Singapore, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, while Australian, Malaysian and New Zealand women are much less likely (by around 30 percentage points) than men to report they feel safe walking home at night. On average, the gender difference is about 16 percentage points in OECD countries and 13 percentage points in the Asia/Pacific region.
Among Asia/Pacific countries, both men and women report feeling the most comfortable being on the street at night in Singapore (around 95%), followed by Tajikistan and Turkmenistan (at around 90%). By contrast, less than 50% of the population in Brunei Darussalam, Korea DPR and Mongolia feels safe walking alone at night. Women in these countries also feel the least safe of all (Figure 7.7).
In almost all Asia/Pacific countries, the share of people who declare to have had property of money stolen has decreased over the past decade (Figure 7.8). On average, in 2022/23, a higher share of people had money or property stolen in OECD countries than in the Asia/Pacific region. In Lao PDR, Mongolia and New Zealand more than 18% of the respondents have been subject to these crimes, whereas only 3% of respondents reported so in Singapore and Tajikistan. The most pronounced declines since 2012‑13 took place in China, Malaysia and Turkmenistan, with a difference of more than 7 percentage points.
Confidence in law enforcement is relatively high overall (Figure 7.9). Around 75% of the population in the Asia/Pacific region and OECD countries trust the local police. This proportion is highest at over 85% of respondents in Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore. In Pakistan, only around half of the respondents have faith in the police.
