Which European countries have the largest number of police officers per 100,000 inhabitants?

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In almost every country, the number of police officers is a common topic in elections. Getting more police on the streets is often touted as a simple solution to reduce crime. The reality is of course much more complicated. More police will help, but only so far. There are many other solutions that can reduce crime as well or even more effectively. It also depends on which type of crime is most prevalent.

We can see that southern Europe and particularly south-eastern Europe has more police officers per 100,000 people than other parts of Europe. Montenegro has by far the highest number (731). Turkey (561), Cyprus (544), Greece (525) and Croatia (507) also have a high number of police officers.

The lowest numbers can be found in northern Europe. Finland (136), Iceland (136), Denmark and Norway (194) all have less than 200 police officers per 100,000 inhabitants.

Data for this map comes from Eurostat and the Norwegian Police. The UK is divided because England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own police force. Eurostat defines police officers as personnel in public agencies whose principal functions are the prevention, detection and investigation of crime and the apprehension of alleged offenders. Data concerning support staff (secretaries, clerks, etc.) are excluded.