The Safest Countries To Travel To In 2019
- Helen
- Feb 9, 2019
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 2, 2019
When you plan to travel and you are considering, 'where next', is one of the deciding factors on which country to tick off your bucket list how safe it is and the likely threat to your well being it could present?
It is great being able to see new parts of the world, but equally for our own peace of mind and that of our loved ones back home, it is good to know that the country we are visiting will not put us at any considerable risks.
So, how do we know which countries are super safe and which might put us in imminent danger?
Luckily, help is at hand as some very helpful people working for two organisations have done a lot of hard work to research, investigate and crunch numbers.
Firstly, the team at Global Finance (GF) have just released their 2019 list of safest countries.
They have calculated the safest countries in the world today, taking into consideration three comprehensive factors.
These are how each country ranks against:
- risk of war
- risks to personal safety
- risks of natural disasters.
The team at Global Peace Index (GPI) are also busy reviewing countries around the world for their levels of peace each year to determine the safest and most dangerous. Their last annual results came out in June of 2018.
The results that the Global Peace Index compile, however, do not factor in natural disaster risks and so their results do differ slightly from those of Global Finance.
Where In The World Is Safest?
For both lists, the countries ranked highest are predominantly Western, with Global Finance's results finding 16 of the top 20 safest countries in the world are in Europe.
This differs slightly to the findings of Global Peace Index, predominantly as some of the countries that score very highly on peace factors also carry greater risks of natural disasters (e.g. Japan & New Zealand) pushing them down the Global Finance list.
The safest countries in terms of peace and political factors are those with the best economic development which seems to contribute to less unrest, conflict or domestic crime.
One of the most westernised and economically developed countries, however, that does feature lower down both lists for safety is the USA with their homicide rates pushing them down in rankings.
Asian countries do not feature highly on either list, other than a few of the richer Asian countries and some small island nations.
Which Is The World's Safest Country?
Ok, so I know what you are all dying to know so that you can get safely planning your next travel destination is which country is the world's safest.
So, drumroll please.....
For both the Global Peace Index and Global Finance reports, the country that came out top as the world's safest was.... Iceland.
Iceland only has a population of approximately 340,000 people and it would seem they all get along pretty well together.
Crime rates in Iceland are very low with around 1.8 murders per 100,000 people annually.
Iceland is also at low risk of natural disasters keeping it as a safe destination option on many levels.
Following Iceland's number one spot on both lists, the results start to differ very slightly so here are the top 10 safest countries for both lists as comparison.
Safest Countries In The World, Global Finance 2019
1. Iceland
2. Switzerland
3. Finland
4. Portugal
5. Austria
6. Norway
7. Qatar
8. Singapore
9. Denmark
10. New Zealand
Safest Countries In The World, Global Peace Index 2018
1. Iceland
2. New Zealand
3. Austria
4. Portugal
5. Denmark
6. Canada
7. Czech Republic
8. Singapore
9. Japan
10. Ireland
There are some key similarities between the two lists and any differences as stated before are mainly due to natural disaster risk taken into account in the first list and not the second.
Therefore, New Zealand and Austria are likely pushed lower in terms of safety by Global Finance as they have more chance of threat to safety from natural causes.
If environmental risks are not a safety concern you want to take into account when you travel then Global Peace Index is the list to study!
There we have the safest countries to visit but what about the most dangerous?
The Most Dangerous Countries In The World
Knowing the more dangerous countries of the world today is also wise in terms of potentially avoiding them as travel destinations or ensuring considerable extra safety precautions if you do.
For reasons already discussed the two reports here do differ in their findings of the most dangerous countries, but this is also due to the fact that Global Finance did not include countries in their analysis for whom they had incomplete data. This included countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq who all feature as the most dangerous on the list from Global Peace Index.
Yemen does feature as the most dangerous on the Global Finance list and is in the top 10 most dangerous on the Global Peace Index list.
Predominantly the countries which are most dangerous are those with current conflict, civil wars and political unrest.
Least Safe Countries In The World, Global Finance 2019
1. Philippines
2. Yemen
3. Guatemala
4. El Salvador
5. Nigeria
6. Pakistan
7. Colombia
8. Bangladesh
9. Chad
10. Mali
Least Safe Countries In The World, Global Peace Index 2018
1. Syria
2. Afghanistan
3. South Sudan
4. Iraq
5. Somalia
6. Yemen
7. Libya
8. Democratic Republic of Congo
9. Central African Republic
10. Russia
One surprise here might be Russia featuring as one of the most dangerous in the world - this is due to high rime rates, alongside recent economic decline and social unrest.
Otherwise, overall the lists perhaps offer few surprises in terms of where might not be quite so safe to pick as a holiday destination at this time.
Does the country you want to know about not feature on any of the lists above?
Please check out the full lists and reports findings with the links to both Global Peace Index and Global Finance below.
Conclusion
When planning your next travel destination and considering the safety of a country you might like to visit - for the safest in the world, heading to large parts of Europe is generally a good bet.
Selecting countries which are highly developed with good economies is also likely to correlate to a country that is safe.
Countries where there is greater poverty and political unrest are more likely to bring greater risks... of course, there are always exceptions to this rule.
One of the downsides to the fact that the safest nations are the most economically developed also sadly means that those are the countries that are the most expensive with higher costs of living (not so good for a budget traveller).
They do say that in life you get what you pay for and it seems safety comes at a price!
When looking at these lists also consider what you will be doing in a country when you visit and how many of the risks are to a traveller visiting and keeping to well known visitor spots.
As stated earlier, the USA ranks in the middle of both the lists here, indicating greater risks, which considering their homicide rates is true. However, a large part of the risks in the USA are perhaps arising from gang culture and found in some of the more deprived areas... visiting large parts of the USA would not be considered a significantly higher risk than many other countries higher up the safety list.
Review the lists here but also use common sense and take further practical advice.
When you are considering a country it is also well worth reviewing current official advice for the nation from organisations such as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the UK who keep an up to date website of countries and their risks, alongside current advice for travellers on their website.
Travel safely and enjoy wherever you do go!
Links To The Reports:
**To make my travels possible and affordable I do so through international house-sitting, using both Trusted Housesitters and Kiwi Housesitters**
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