If you want to avoid all risks, your options for traveling the world are extremely limited. For venturing a little bit further than the neighborhood park, you have to take some chances. In any case, for an average traveler, it makes sense to stay out of conflict, disaster and contagious disease zones. Here are the safest countries to visit based on information from 2019 and 2020.
International SOS, a travel security consultancy, has published its assessment for the safest countries to travel. The company reviews safety from three perspectives: general security, medical situation, and traffic.
From security point of view, only 8 countries were ranked to the lowest category: insignificant security risk (defined as: violent crime rate is very low, no significant political violence or civil unrest, little targeted violence against foreigners, security and emergency services are effective, transport services are of a high standard, industrial action affecting essential services is rare). The eight safest countries are:
- Denmark
- Finland (here is a travel guide to the capital Helsinki)
- Greenland
- Iceland
- Norway (travel guide to Lapland in the Arctic region)
- Slovenia
- Luxembourg
- Switzerland
International SOS has also published a handy map that highlights the world’s countries by their safety ranking.
Medical risk (defines as high quality medical care is available across the region, and the risk of infectious diseases is low) is the lowest in these regions (the review doesn’t take Corona virus outbreak into account):
- Australia
- Chile
- New Zealand
- North America
- South Africa
- Turkey
- Uruguay
- Western Europe
Road safety is at the highest level in:
- Australia
- Canada
- New Zealand
- Western Europe
Via CNN Travel.