These are the safest countries in the world for travellers

Iceland has topped a list of the world’s safest countries to live and travel in.

The Global Peace Index (GPI) 2022 ranks 163 of the world’s nations in terms of “peacefulness”, analysing data on their political stability, neighbouring country relations, number of refugees, nuclear weapons, internal and external conflicts, military expenditure, incarceration rates and “perceptions of criminality”, among other factors.

It’s compiled by the Institute for Economics & Peace, based in Sydney, which says: “In the past 14 years, peacefulness has fallen [overall], with the average country score deteriorating by 3.2 per cent.”

Iceland was named the safest and most peaceful destination for its near-zero spending on defence, low crime rates and evasion of international conflict. The country has topped the list every year since the GPI began in 2008.

Meanwhile, New Zealand, Ireland, Denmark and Austria came in second, third, fourth and fifth.

New Zealand was noted for its low threat of international conflict and peaceful response to the pandemic, while Ireland scored well for its prosperous economy.

The United Kingdom came in at number 34, behind Spain (29), Canada (12) and Germany (16); while Afghanistan ranked as least peaceful country at number 163.

The United States came in at 129 - falling into the section of the list marked “low” for peace, following countries like Haiti (115) and Cuba (98) in the “medium” section.

Ukraine has slipped 17 places on the list this year, to number 153, following Russia’s invasion in February.

However, according to the IEP, “Europe remains the most peaceful region in the world. The region is home to four of the five most peaceful countries, and only one country in Europe is ranked outside the top half of the index.”

In terms of a Europe-only view, the safest countries were: Iceland, Ireland, Denmark, Austria and Portugal.

The Middle East was found to be the least safe and peaceful region.