180 countries ranked by safety, peace, freedom and LGBT+ equality
Visiting: Recommend CautionLGBT+ visiting: Not Recommended
The UAE is easy to be snobby about and easier to enjoy: the view from the Burj Khalifa really is something, Abu Dhabi's Louvre earns the name, and the desert beyond the highways is proper dune country. It's exceptionally safe, and everything runs on time. But sharia provisions retain the death penalty for homosexuality — LGBT+ travellers should not go.
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
United Arab Emirates: 0.5
Ranked 10th in the world for the lowest homicide rate.
0.52 homicides per 100,000 people in 2023 — killings here are genuinely rare.
Lower than 90% of the 230 countries and territories measured.
How peaceful the country is — lower is better.
United Arab Emirates: 1.8
Ranked 68th most peaceful country in the world.
More peaceful than 68% of the 163 countries ranked, scoring 1.812.
Up 2 places since 2024.
Personal and economic freedom — higher is better.
United Arab Emirates: 5.8
Ranked 56th least free country in the world.
Less free than 73% of the 165 countries measured — 5.81 out of 10.
Day-to-day life (speech, movement, religion) scores 4.78; doing business and owning property, 7.25.
LGBT+ equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
United Arab Emirates: Death
Ranked 11th least equal in the world for LGBT+ people.
Homosexuality is criminalised here, with a maximum penalty of death penalty.
Public attitudes score 23 out of 100 — the law and public opinion are not the same thing.