These are the world’s safest countries, according to the 2023 Global Peace Index

The latest version of the Global Peace Index (GPI), which ranks the safest countries in the world as of 2023, was released earlier this month by the Institute of Economics and Peace.

Once again, Iceland has emerged victorious, securing the top spot with an outstanding score of 1.124. The European island country has consistently claimed the most favorable spot on the GPI since 2008, owing to its commendable achievements to maintaining low crime rates, practicing minimal military spending, and actively avoiding conflicts.

The GPI is a composite index that uses 23 different quantitative and qualitative indicators to compare the relative peace of different countries. According to TravelPulse, violence, crime, terrorism, and international conflicts are all contributing elements.

Following Iceland are Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, and Austria, all of which have scores of 1.316 or lower. In this year’s rankings, Singapore, Portugal, Slovenia, Japan, and Switzerland have secured their positions in the top 10.

With dozens of top destinations, Europe prevails in the GPI. The highest-ranked South American nation is Uruguay, which is ranked 50th with a score of 1.798.

Out of 163 countries, Canada (1.35) is ranked 11th, the United Kingdom (1.693) came in 37th, and the United States (2.448) is a shameful 131st. This year, Mexico (2.599) is ranked 136th.

Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are the five nations with the lowest rankings.

Evie Blanco, a seasoned entertainment journalist who has transitioned to travel writing, has a distinguished career spanning almost ten years. Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in the vibrant and diverse city of Queens, New York, she has experienced the best of both worlds. She is passionate about many forms of aesthetic expression, including contemporary architecture, and is also quite knowledgeable about hip-hop music, culture, and its history. Evie enjoys writing about various travel-related topics, including exciting new foreign places to visit, festivals, new family-owned restaurants, and even recently renovated hotels. She can be reached at evieblanco@detourxp.com.

This story was originally published July 7, 2023 at 3:55 PM with the headline "These are the world’s safest countries, according to the 2023 Global Peace Index."