Russia is the World's Most Heavily Policed Country

If you travel to Moscow, you may notice that the Russian capital has a higher than average police presence. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Russia is the world’s most heavily policed country with 564.6 officers per 100,000 of the population.

Turkey comes a distant second with 474.8 police officers per 100,000 of the population whole, Italy rounds off the top three with 467.2. Portugal and Hong Kong come fourth and fifth with 454.2 and 450.7 police officers per 100,000 of the population respectively.

Police personnel are defined as those working in public agencies “whose principal functions are the prevention, detection and investigation of crime and apprehension of alleged offenders” according to the UNODC.