Cities in China are under the heaviest CCTV surveillance in the world, according to a new analysis by Comparitech. However, some residents living in cities across the UK and India will also find themselves surrounded by a large number of watchful eyes, as our look at the number of public CCTV cameras in the 150 most populated cities worldwide found.

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras serve many purposes, ranging from crime prevention to traffic monitoring to observing industrial operations in environments not suitable for humans. The digital age has boosted the prevalence of CCTV surveillance. Cameras are getting better and cheaper, while live video streams can be remotely accessed, stored on the internet, and passed around. The adoption of face recognition technology makes it possible for both public and private entities to instantly check the identity of anyone who passes by a CCTV camera.

Depending on whom you ask, the increased prevalence and capabilities of CCTV surveillance could make society safer and more efficient, could trample on our rights to privacy and freedom of movement, or both. No matter which side you argue, the fact is that live video surveillance is ramping up worldwide.

Comparitech researchers collated a number of data resources and reports, including government reports, police websites, and news articles, to get some idea of the number of CCTV cameras in use in 150 major cities across the globe. We focused primarily on public CCTV—cameras used by government entities such as law enforcement.

Here are our key findings:

18 out of the top 20 most surveilled cities are in China

London and Hyderabad were the only cities outside of China to make the top 20, with London taking third place and Hyderabad sixteenth

By 2021, over one billion surveillance cameras will be installed worldwide, according to IHS Markit’s latest report

Globally, there are already 770 million cameras in use with 54% of these being in China

We found little correlation between the number of public CCTV cameras and crime or safety

The 20 most surveilled cities in the world

Based on the number of cameras per 1,000 people, these cities are the top 20 most surveilled in the world:

Taiyuan, China – 465,255 cameras for 3,891,127 people = 119.57 cameras per 1,000 people Wuxi, China – 300,000 cameras for 3,256,020 people = 92.14 cameras per 1,000 people London, England (UK) – 627,727 cameras for 9,304,016 people = 67.47 cameras per 1,000 people Changsha, China – 260,000 cameras for 4,577,723 people = 56.80 cameras per 1,000 people Beijing, China – 1,150,000 cameras for 20,462,610 people = 56.20 cameras per 1,000 people Hangzhou, China – 400,000 cameras for 7,642,147 people = 52.34 cameras per 1,000 people Kunming, China – 200,000 cameras for 4,443,186 people = 45.01 cameras per 1,000 people Qingdao, China – 250,000 cameras for 5,619,977 people = 44.48 cameras per 1,000 people Xiamen, China – 150,000 cameras for 3,720,141 people = 40.32 cameras per 1,000 people Harbin, China – 250,000 cameras for 6,387,195 people = 39.14 cameras per 1,000 people Suzhou, China – 270,000 cameras for 7,069,992 people = 38.19 cameras per 1,000 people Shanghai, China – 1,000,000 cameras for 27,058,480 people = 36.96 cameras per 1,000 people Urumqi, China – 160,000 cameras for 4,368,865 people = 36.62 cameras per 1,000 people Chengdu, China – 310,000 cameras for 9,135,768 people = 33.93 cameras per 1,000 people Shenzhen, China – 400,000 cameras for 12,356,820 people = 32.37 cameras per 1,000 people Hyderabad, India – 300,000 cameras for 10,004,144 people = 29.99 cameras per 1,000 people Ji’nan, China – 160,000 cameras for 5,360,185 people = 29.85 cameras per 1,000 people Shenyang, China – 200,000 cameras for 7,220,104 people = 27.70 cameras per 1,000 people Hefei, China – 113,795 cameras for 4,241,514 people = 26.83 cameras per 1,000 people Tianjin, China – 350,000 cameras for 13,589,078 people = 25.76 cameras per 1,000 people

The top 50 most-surveilled cities City Country # of CCTV Cameras # of People # of CCTV Cameras per 1,000 People Crime Index Taiyuan China 465,255 3,891,127 119.57 51.47 Wuxi China 300,000 3,256,020 92.14 7.84 London England (UK) 627,727 9,304,016 67.47 52.56 Changsha China 260,000 4,577,723 56.80 22.68 Beijing China 1,150,000 20,462,610 56.20 34.52 Hangzhou China 400,000 7,642,147 52.34 21.46 Kunming China 200,000 4,443,186 45.01 29.17 Qingdao China 250,000 5,619,977 44.48 7.42 Xiamen China 150,000 3,720,141 40.32 19.09 Harbin China 250,000 6,387,195 39.14 30.17 Suzhou China 270,000 7,069,992 38.19 16.63 Shanghai China 1,000,000 27,058,480 36.96 35.54 Urumqi China 160,000 4,368,865 36.62 26.72 Chengdu China 310,000 9,135,768 33.93 24.18 Shenzhen China 400,000 12,356,820 32.37 33.43 Hyderabad India 300,000 10,004,144 29.99 43.46 Ji'nan China 160,000 5,360,185 29.85 15.79 Shenyang China 200,000 7,220,104 27.70 22.18 Hefei China 113,795 4,241,514 26.83 11.03 Tianjin China 350,000 13,589,078 25.76 30.28 Chennai India 280,000 10,971,108 25.52 40.68 Nanjing China 220,000 8,847,372 24.87 13.31 Wuhan China 200,000 8,364,977 23.91 24.45 Changchun China 100,000 4,425,761 22.59 23.82 Guangzhou China 300,000 13,301,532 22.55 40.08 Zhengzhou China 100,000 5,322,696 18.79 21.84 Chongqing China 290,000 15,872,179 18.27 29.58 Baghdad Iraq 120,000 7,144,260 16.80 65.49 Moscow Russia 193,000 12,537,954 15.39 39.68 Wenzhou China 55,144 3,623,646 15.22 22.79 Dongguan China 110,000 7,407,852 14.85 46.73 Singapore Singapore 86,000 5,935,053 14.49 32.01 Delhi India 429,500 30,290,396 14.18 58.69 Foshan China 100,000 7,326,852 13.65 36.4 Shijiazhuang China 54,000 4,114,393 13.12 N/A Sydney Australia 60,000 4,925,987 12.18 33.45 St. Petersburg Russia 55,064 5,467,808 10.07 39.22 Nanchang China 35,000 3,598,421 9.73 26.47 Nanning China 37,000 3,859,608 9.59 22.3 Lanzhou China 25,200 3,080,522 8.18 N/A Xinbei (New Taipei City) Taiwan 35,000 4,398,383 7.96 29.03 Istanbul Turkey 109,000 15,190,336 7.18 47.37 Hong Kong Hong Kong 50,000 7,547,652 6.62 20.91 Guiyang China 20,000 3,317,110 6.03 N/A Dalian China 32,000 5,617,849 5.70 17.53 Los Angeles United States 22,678 4,015,940 5.65 46.5 Xian China 45,000 8,000,965 5.62 N/A Bangkok Thailand 57,770 10,539,415 5.48 41.46 Guadalajara Mexico 25,672 5,179,479 4.96 62.66 Berlin Germany 17,464 3,562,038 4.90 41.08

This spreadsheet contains the figures for all 150 cities and the source for each number.

The 20 most populated cities in the world (and their camera figures)

As most of the heaviest surveilled cities aren’t in the top 20 most populated cities, let’s see how the world’s most heavily-populated cities compare when it comes to their camera figures per 1,000 people:

Tokyo, Japan – 39,504 cameras for 37,393,129 people = 1.06 cameras per 1,000 people Delhi, India – 429,500 cameras for 30,290,396 people = 14.18 cameras per 1,000 people Shanghai, China – 1,000,000 cameras for 27,058,480 people = 36.96 cameras per 1,000 people São Paulo, Brazil – 4,823 cameras for 22,043,028 people = 0.22 cameras per 1,000 people Mexico City, Mexico – 87,000 cameras for 21,782,378 people = 3.99 cameras per 1,000 people Dhaka, Bangladesh – 16,000 cameras for 21,005,860 people = 0.76 cameras per 1,000 people Cairo, Egypt – 750 cameras for 20,900,604 people = 0.04 cameras per 1,000 people Beijing, China – 1,150,000 cameras for 20,462,610 people = 56.20 cameras per 1,000 people Mumbai, India – 9,800 cameras for 20,411,274 people = 0.48 cameras per 1,000 people Osaka, Japan – 2,120 cameras for 19,165,340 people = 0.11 cameras per 1,000 people Karachi, Pakistan – 64,449 cameras for 16,093,786 people = 4.00 cameras per 1,000 people Chongqing, China – 290,000 cameras for 15,872,179 people = 18.27 cameras per 1,000 people Istanbul, Turkey – 109,000 cameras for 15,190,336 people = 7.18 cameras per 1,000 people Buenos Aires, Argentina – 15,700 cameras for 15,153,729 people = 1.04 cameras per 1,000 people Kolkata, India – 13,800 cameras for 14,850,066 people = 0.93 cameras per 1,000 people Lagos, Nigeria – No data available Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo – No data available Manila, Philippines – 300 cameras for 13,923,452 people = 0.02 cameras per 1,000 people Tianjin, China – 350,000 cameras for 13,589,078 people = 25.76 cameras per 1,000 people Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 14,000 cameras for 13,458,075 people = 1.04 cameras per 1,000 people

CCTV, crime, and safety

A primary argument in favor of CCTV surveillance is improved law enforcement and crime prevention. We compared the number of public CCTV cameras with the crime indices reported by Numbeo, which are based on surveys of that site’s visitors.

As you can see from the above chart, a higher number of cameras just barely correlates with a lower crime index.

Broadly speaking, more cameras doesn’t necessarily reduce crime rates.

China leads the world in CCTV surveillance

Estimates vary on the number of CCTV cameras in China, but IHS Markit’s latest report suggests that 54 percent of the world’s 770 million surveillance cameras are situated in China, meaning there are approximately 415.8 million located in the country. If this percentage remains the same as camera levels grow to 1 billion in the next year, China’s CCTV camera count could rise to as much as 540 million.

Based on the country’s current population of 1.4 billion people, that would mean nearly one camera for every two people. Although this projection might seem vast, it may be a fraction of the actual number.

China is also a fervent adopter of face recognition surveillance. It is often used to restrict individuals’ freedom of movement, such as restricting access to public transportation. Cameras equipped with face recognition technology are put in place at transportation hubs to enforce these rules.

Methodology

Comparitech researchers collated a number of resources to get an estimate of the number of public CCTV cameras in use. We focused on the world’s 150 most heavily-populated cities but omitted any city where we couldn’t find enough data.

Due to new data from authoritative sources, some figures may be considerably higher or lower than our previous study which relied on some estimates.

Where possible, we have only included public CCTV cameras, including cameras installed on public buildings, cameras used by law enforcement, cameras installed on public transport, and traffic cameras with surveillance capabilities (i.e. automatic number plate recognition). However, in some instances, it may not be clear what cameras are included, meaning some private camera figures may also be included in the totals. We believe this may be the case for London and Sydney.

Due to a wide range of sources reporting estimates and a general lack of public information regarding CCTV cameras, actual figures may be higher or lower than what is indicated. To try and ensure our study is as fair and accurate as possible, we have opted for the lower figure where two different ones have been quoted.

Most of the data sources used are from the last few years but, in some cases, only older data sources were found. The dates of the sources are listed in the spreadsheet linked above.

The countries omitted due to lack of data are: Bekasi, Alexandria, Addis Abada, Thrissur, Chittagong, Fuzhou, Douala, Yaounde, Changzhou, Ningbo, Shantou, Kinshasa, Kumasi, Kanpur, Malappuram, Nagoya, Kuwait City, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Ibadan, Kano, Pyongyang, Faisalabad, Jeddah, Dar Es Salaam, and Ankara.

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