This map, sourced from the UNODC, shows rape rates per 100,000 citizens by country. This map is created using color gradations from pale yellow (low rates) to deep red (high rates) for the period of 2010-2012.
Below are a concise region-wise summary and comparison of why under-developed countries have low rape rate than developed countries.
Africa
Southern Africa, particularly South Africa, shows the highest rape rate globally, marked in deep red, suggesting rates above 95 per 100,000. Most other African countries present low to moderate rates, but notable pockets in the south and east still signal elevated statistics. High rape rate also suggests that women feel freer to register a case of rape. Northern Africa and much of Central Africa have literally no data of rape rate.
Americas
Latin America, including Central America and parts of the Caribbean islands, largely shows moderate to high rates (orange shades), notably in countries such as Brazil, Peru and Bolivia. Many smaller Central American and Caribbean nations are not indicated or also report lower values.
North America being very developed, yet the United States and Mexico display higher rates compared to others. Canada has low rape rate compared to its neighboring countries.
Europe
Northern Europe—including Sweden—is shaded deep red, marking it as one of the highest in the region and globally. Western, Central, and Eastern Europe feature moderate rape rates, with eastern areas (Russia) generally higher than southern and southeastern regions, where rape rates tend to get lower. Nearby small countries like Greece and some Eastern European states show lower rates of rape.
Asia
Most of Asia appears in pale yellow, suggesting low reported rape rates per 100,000. Exceptions include a few Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, which stand out with higher (orange) rates. The Middle East features mostly gray (data unavailable/incomplete), but some pockets with available data show low rates. Lower rape rates in Asian countries show that woman feel ashamed to report to the police as they care more about how society will think about them.
Oceania
Australia and New Zealand show moderate to high rates, with New Zealand colored more intensely (orange red), indicating higher figures. Pacific island nations are largely absent from data display.
CONCLUSION
The contrast that we saw here in the developed countries having more rape rates than the under-developed countries is that women in developed countries are more educated and feel free to report against the crime they have gone through. This map also grows more concerns that women are still uneducated and fear to report on crime.
