The 10 Safest Countries in the World (2023)

Ongoing Domestic & International Conflict

• Number and duration of internal conflict
• Number of deaths from external organized conflict
• Number of deaths from internal organized conflict
• Number, duration and role in external conflicts
• Intensity of organized internal conflict

Societal Safety & Security

• Level of perceived criminality in a society
• Number of refugees and internally displaced people as a percentage of the population
• Political instability
• Placement on the Political Terror Scale
• Impact of terrorism
• Number of homicides per 100,000 people
• Level of violent crime
• Likelihood of violent demonstrations
• Number of jailed population per 100,000 people
• Number of internal security officers and police per 100,000 people

Militarization

• Military expenditure as a percentage of GDP
• Number of armed services personnel per 100,000 people
• Volume of transfers of major conventional weapons as recipient (imports) per 100,000
• Volume of transfers of major conventional weapons as supplier (exports) per 100,000 people
• Financial contribution to UN peacekeeping missions
• Nuclear and heavy weapons capabilities
• Ease of access to small arms and light weapons

Spoiler alert: Under that criteria, the United States did not make the top ten safest countries to visit.

Here’s their list for 2023 (each of the 23 indicators were weighed on a scale of 1-5):

1. Iceland (Score: 1.124)
2. Denmark (1.31)
3. Ireland (1.312)
4. New Zealand (1.313)
5. Austria (1.316)
6. Singapore (1.332)
7. Portugal (1.333)
8. Slovenia (1.334)
9. Japan (1.336)
10. Switzerland (1.339)

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Iceland was #1 – they’ve had that ranking every single year since 2008. And it’s no wonder – they have low crime rates, low military spending and low rates of international conflict. So…yeah.

Some key trends the GPI noted:

•  Deaths from global conflict increased by 96% to 238,000
•  New data shows higher number of conflict deaths in Ethiopia than Ukraine, eclipsing the previous global peak during the Syrian war
•  79 countries witnessed increased levels of conflict including Ethiopia, Myanmar, Ukraine, Israel, and South Africa
•  The global economic impact of violence increased by 17% or $1 trillion, to $17.5 trillion in 2022, equivalent to 13% of global GDP
•  A Chinese blockade of Taiwan would cause a drop in global economic output of $2.7 trillion, almost double the loss that occurred due to the 2008 global financial crisis
•  Despite the conflict in Ukraine, 92 countries improved on military expenditure and 110 decreased their military personnel
•  Conflicts are becoming more internationalized with 91 countries now involved in some form of external conflict, up from 58 in 2008

Also, not surprisingly, the war in Ukraine has caused that country to take a huge hit on its level of safety:

• Ukraine recorded the largest deterioration, falling 14 places to 157^th
• The economic impact of violence has increased by 479% or $449 billion, equivalent to 64% of Ukraine’s GDP
• Despite the conflict, Russia’s incarceration rate, violent demonstrations, terrorism impact and homicide rates have improved over the past year, with the homicide rate at its lowest since 2008
• 65% of men in Ukraine aged 20 to 24 years have fled the country, or died in the conflict

Oh, and the United States? We’re wallowing as the 131st safety country. Out of 163 included in the Index. Go us, huh?

You can learn the scores of other countries on Vision of Humanity’s website.