Kidnapping in Foreign Countries

Kidnapping is a real and dangerous threat in many countries. The only guaranteed way to avoid kidnapping is not to go to risky areas. Since this is impractical for many travelers, the next best thing is to be aware of the risks. Some tips for surviving a kidnapping.

Today many business travelers rely on KRE insurance to deal with kidnapping, ransom, and extortion situations. KRE insurance providers include:
Palmer & Cay
Black Fox International, Inc
Chubb Insurance
Pinkerton Burns
Seitlin & Company
Kroll Inc.

Below are kidnapping statistics for various countries. Please bear in mind that only a tiny fraction [10% ?] of all kidnapping cases are reported to authorities for fear that it will trigger further kidnappings.

Have a safe trip!!

Rank	Country	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	TOTAL
1	Colombia	464	244	217	469	947	908	960	972	5,181
2	Mexico	46	87	31	48	109	275	436	402	1,269
3	Former Soviet Union*	5	5	13	3	21	41	57	105	250
4	Brazil	94	66	73	56	65	67	43	51	515
5	Philippines	53	56	78	61	113	61	51	39	492
6	Nigeria	1	0	0	1	0	2	6	24	34
7	India	9	10	13	9	5	8	5	17	76
8	Ecuador	1	10	15	11	7	5	5	12	66
9	Venezuela	15	6	7	7	28	24	10	12	109
10	South Africa	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	10	11
	Total	683	484	447	666	1,295	1,391	1,573	1,644	7,773

Source: Hiscox Group "(The statistics are based on those cases about which Hiscox has obtained reasonably reliable information and do not purport to represent the full extent of the problem.) * Former Soviet Union comprises the Russian Federation and the 14 fully independent republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan"

Other numbers:

Amnesty International Report 2001