Cybercrime Trends Worldwide: A Statistical Snapshot by Region and Nation

Research Description:

This research presents a detailed statistical overview of global cybercrime, with a dual focus on regional cyber fraud trends and national cybercrime indicators. It utilizes primary data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the newly released World Cybercrime Index (WCI) by the University of Oxford to offer a multidimensional understanding of how cyber-related fraud is distributed across regions and which countries are most significantly implicated.

Figure C – UNODC World Cyber Fraud Statistics by Regions

This figure visualizes the volume and concentration of cyber-related fraud across global regions. Data, compiled from the UNODC Corruption & Economic Crime database, reveals that certain regions—particularly East and Southeast Asia—exhibit alarmingly high levels of cyber-enabled fraud activity. The regional distribution highlights the uneven exposure and reporting of cyber fraud globally, emphasizing the need for both regional resilience and transnational cooperation.

Table A – Top 10 Countries of the World by Cybercrime Indicators

This table ranks ten countries by three key indicators:

• Cyber-related Fraud Counts (2020–2022)
• Cyber-related Fraud Rate per 100,000 population
• World Cybercrime Index (WCI) 2024, based on expert assessments of threat levels, targeting capabilities, and technical skills.

Notably, Russia, Ukraine, and China top the WCI rankings, indicating a high level of threat or involvement in cybercrime activities. Meanwhile, countries like Spain, Germany, and Italy report high absolute fraud counts, reflecting strong detection/reporting mechanisms or high incident rates. Smaller nations like Liechtenstein and Singapore show exceptionally high per capita fraud rates, signaling concentrated risks in otherwise less populous jurisdictions.