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 |