Crime Comparisons by Country: U.S. and Mexico

When I told my friends I was vacationing in Mexico, they looked at me as if I were nuts. I always kidded them by saying I was going to be ok. I would wear my Kevlar vest! The truth is I've never felt that it was unsafe to travel to Mexico. Recently, a study was released that compares crime rates in the U.S. and Mexico. Here's what the study shows:

The U.S. is 8th in the world in total crimes at 80.0645 per 1000 residents, giving you an 8% chance of being a victim in the U.S.

But here is the real clunker – Mexico — the country the U.S. government tells you not to visit, and the U.S. media has a field day reporting any crime, be it significant or not, to further put the fear of God into staying away from, well, Mexico ranks 39th in total crime in the world with a per capita of slightly less than 13 crimes per 1000 residents… That is a 1.3% chance of being a victim of crime in Mexico.

According to almost every measure, Mexico is much safer than the U.S.:

Assaults — the U.S. ranks number 6, Mexico number 20

Burglaries — the U.S. ranks number 17, Mexico number 34

Car thefts — the U.S. ranks number 9, Mexico number 22

Fraud — the U.S. ranks number 18, Mexico number 29

Rape — (Canada number 5) the U.S. ranks number 9, Mexico number 17

For me, it's the perfect place to be a snowbird. I enjoy the warm days, perfect sunsets and soft evenings in the city of Mazatlan on the Pacific Ocean as far south as Cabo.