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SCOTLAND is the assault capital of the world according to new United Nations statistics.

The shocking data shows that we are more likely to be the victims of a physical attack than any other country.

Scotland fared worse than notorious crime hotspots such as Mexico, Colombia and El Salvador.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes report claimed Scotland is the world leading location for attacks resulting in “serious bodily injury”.

Nearly 1,200 people per 100,000 were assaulted in 2013.

The figure is more than double the rate in England and seven times the average for the rest of the world combined.

The UN research looked at more than 80 countries including rich and poor nations in North and South America, Africa and Asia.

Scottish Conservative justice spokeswoman Margaret Mitchell said: “The revelation that Scots stand the highest chance of being assaulted sends out the worst possible image of Scotland.

“The SNP government can’t dismiss the findings by saying the increase is down to an improvement in the number of assaults being detected.

“It needs to address this issue now to provide the assurance that Scotland is a safe place to live.”

The Scottish Government questioned whether the figures for each country were comparing like for like.

A spokesman said: “It is wrong to make cross-country comparisons using these statistics because of the different ways offences are defined, and the different ways of counting and recording crimes and offences across the world.

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