The index itself is a composite score based on Gallup World Poll questions that ask people whether they are confident in their local police, feel safe in their neighborhoods, or were victims of theft or assault in the past year. Higher scores mean more people in a country feel secure. Because of the pandemic, Gallup was unable to field its surveys in two countries that have scored the highest and lowest on the index year after year -- Singapore and Afghanistan. But Norway, which posted the highest score on the index in 2020 with a 94, consistently ranks near the top. Venezuela and Gabon, which posted the lowest scores on the index in 2020, at 53 each, also consistently rank near the bottom. While data from Venezuela and Gabon are not yet available in 2021, the score for Norway in 2021 remains a high 93. Notably, the data in Norway were collected before the nation-shocking bow and arrow attack in October that claimed five people's lives.
