The 11 safest countries in the world
The 10th annual edition of the report, which was released on June 8, ranked 163 countries based on their levels of peace and presented the findings on a colour-coded interactive map.
Every nation was issued a peace score out of 5 (the lower the score, the higher the level of peace), determined by analysis of 23 factors under three categories: the level of safety and security in society, domestic and international conflict, and militarisation.
Iceland claims the coveted title of the world's safest country. With a score of 1.192, the European nation ranks highly for its lack of domestic and international conflict as well as the calm state of its society.
Another Nordic country, Denmark, takes second place with a score of 1,246, while Austria is the third-safest place in the world, with a score of 1.278.
Of the 11 nations deemed to have a "very high" level of peace by the GPI, eight are in Europe, while Japan (named the 9th safest), Canada (8th), and New Zealand (4th) also make an appearance. Though, neither the UK (in 47th place) or US (103rd) make the cut.
Here are the 11 safest countries on Earth, along with their respective peace scores:
- 11. Finland - 1.429
- 10. Slovenia - 1.408
- 9. Japan - 1.395
- 8. Canada - 1.388
- 7. Switzerland - 1.37
- 6. Czech Republic - 1.36
- 5. Portugal - 1.356
- 4. New Zealand - 1.287
- 3. Austria - 1.278
- 2. Denmark - 1.246
- 1. Iceland - 1.192