List of the 40 safest travel countries

The criteria

For this list, 48 different criteria from various subject areas were evaluated. 23 of these come from the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), which assesses individual countries for the risk of war and acts of violence in its Global Peace Index. We have added a further 25 criteria to this 2022 index to additionally include the risk of corruption, petty crime, health and environmental impacts.

In the health sector, these are primarily the number of physicians and hospital beds per inhabitant, the registered cases of malaria and tuberculosis, and, as general indicators for the health system of the respective country, the DTP immunization rate and life expectancy. In order to take hygienic conditions into account, the availability of drinking water throughout the country was also included with a lower weighting.

Of direct relevance to tourists are our additional evaluations of traffic fatalities and persons affected by weather and natural events. Here, not only deaths were counted, but over the last 10 years the sum of all affected persons in relation to the total population. The events are not limited to volcanoes, tsunamis and earthquakes, but also include landslides, thunderstorms, severe floods, rain and hailstorms, heat waves and fires, sandstorms and snowstorms.

Protection from crime

If your favorite country is not listed, you don't have to worry right away. In Austria and Germany, too, you should never leave your valuables lying around in the open. Experienced travelers know that unnecessary cash and important papers should be left in the hotel room. The expensive wristwatch is best left at home. Where there are many tourists, there are crooks in all countries who want to relieve you of your valuables. It is no different in Vienna, Berlin, New York or Manila. The poorer the population of a country, the greater the desire for the wealth of foreign guests. The more crowded a place is, the more likely opportunities arise.

Emerging countries with poor score

Surprisingly, some of the actually extremely popular vacation countries, such as Mexico and Turkey, are at the very bottom of the list (only the first 40 are shown in the table). Mexico, in particular, is becoming an important and increasingly popular vacation destination for many Americans, but is ranked just 140th in our country. The biggest point deduction here was the high crime rate in the country.

Another country that is also very popular is Turkey (78th place). Numerous areas and cities are extremely tourist-friendly. However, the severe earthquakes and the less than optimal handling of human rights were the main reasons for the downgrading.

Ethiopia, which is becoming increasingly popular with outdoor travelers, is also very far in the danger zone in place 157.