linguistic:translation
Countries with the highest rates

Kidnapping for ransom is a common occurrence in various parts of the world today. In 2018, the United Nations 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. As of 2007, that title belonged to Iraq with possibly 1,500 foreigners kidnapped. In 2004, it was Mexico, and in 2001, it was Colombia. Reports suggest a world total of 12,500–25,500 per year with 3,600 per year in Colombia and 3,000 per year in Mexico around the year 2000. However, by 2016, the number of kidnappings in Colombia had declined to 205 and it continues to decline.

In 2021, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported that the United States was the country with most kidnappings, totaling 56,652.

Mexican numbers are hard to confirm because of fears of police involvement in kidnapping. According to Pax Christi, a Catholic peace movement, "Kidnapping seems to flourish particularly in fragile states and conflict countries, as politically motivated militias, organized crime and the drugs mafia fill the vacuum left by government".

Since 2019, the risk of kidnapping has risen worldwide, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase is mostly seen in kidnappings for ransom. This factors from a variety of aspects, including socioeconomic disparities, insufficient resources, and flawed judicial systems. Another impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on kidnappers is the economic strain that it had put many families through. This pressured kidnappers to increase kidnappings as well as ransom demands. After 2022, the diminishing effects of COVID-19 have led many countries to welcome back in-person interactions, travel and tourism. The connection between increased tourism and kidnapping is reflected through the rise of global kidnapping rates from 2019 to 2021-2023.

The highest recorded ransom demand in 2021 was $77.3 million while in 2019, it was $28.7 million. Between those two years, the average global ransom demand increased 43% while the median global ransom demand increased by 6%. In Sub-Saharan Africa, regions such as Congo (DRC), Nigeria, and South Africa are likely to maintain higher levels of kidnappings due to ongoing effects of religious extremist groups, recent genocides, and civil wars. While there is no hard evidence of which country had the most kidnappings in 2021, the American region (which includes Mexico) maintains its position as the region with the second highest kidnapping rates.