Ranked: safest countries in the world 2024

The safest countries in the world have been updated for 2024. Read our insights from the study and browse the rankings below

Iceland is once again the safest country in the world followed by Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand and Austria.

However, the world is not as safe as a year ago as the average level of global peacefulness has deteriorated for the ninth year in a row. Eighty-four countries recorded an improvement while 79 registered a decline according to the latest Global Peace Index (GPI).

Despite showing improvements, Afghanistan remains the most unsafe country in the world for the fifth year in a row, severely affected by the 2021 Taliban takeover. It is also ranked the most dangerous country in the world. Afghanistan is followed by Yemen, Syria, South Sudan and DR Congo.

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has had a significant impact on global peacefulness, with Ukraine and Russia recording the largest and fifth-largest deteriorations in peacefulness respectively. The report was published before the Israel-Gaza war broke out in 2023.

The GPI report is the only statistical measure of its kind and makes it possible to rank 163 independent states based on how peaceful they are. The 163 states cover over 99% of the world’s population and are assessed using 23 indicators, each banded or normalised on a scale of 1-5.

The index, produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), measures global peace using three broad themes: the level of safety and security in society, the extent of domestic and international conflict and the degree of militarization.

Peace is notoriously difficult to define. The IEP approaches it by attempting to assess the “harmony achieved by the absence of violence or the fear of violence” in a society. More information on the methodology, including details of the 23 indicators used, can be found here.

10 LEAST and most peaceful countries

Key Findings

• Iceland has maintained its position as the safest country in the world. It has been ranked first every year since 2008.
• Afghanistan is the world’s least peaceful country for the sixth consecutive year.
• The average level of global peacefulness declined by 0.42% in 2023.
• 84 countries improved and 79 recorded a deterioration over the past year.
• This is the 12th time in the last 15 years that global peacefulness has declined.
• Since 2008, the average level of global peacefulness declined by 5%
• Europe remains the most peaceful region in the world and is home to seven of the 10 safest countries in the world.
• Despite recording an improvement in peacefulness, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remains the least peaceful, containing four of the 10 least peaceful countries.
• Libya, Burundi, Oman, Côte d’Ivoire and Afghanistan recorded the largest improvements in peacefulness.
• Ukraine, Haiti, Mali, Israel and Russia recorded the largest deteriorations.
• New Zealand is the most peaceful country in Oceania.
• Singapore is the most peaceful country in Asia.
• Mauritius is the most peaceful country in Africa with Qatar the most peaceful in the Middle East.
• Costa Rica is the most peaceful country in Latin America and the Caribbean with Uruguay the highest-ranked South American country.
• The number of forcibly displaced people around the world has tripled from 31 million in 2008 to 108.4 million in 2023 according to the latest UN figures.
• The USA has remained in 131st place while the UK has dropped one position to 37th.

Safest countries in the world – ranked

The table below ranks 163 of the world’s countries by how they scored on the Global Peace Index. Some countries have been omitted due to a lack of sufficient data.

Rank	Country	Score
1	Iceland	1.124
2	Denmark	1.310
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
11	Canada	1.350
12	Czechia	1.379
13	Finland	1.399
14	Croatia	1.450
15	Germany	1.456
16	Netherlands	1.490
17	Bhutan	1.496
18	Hungary	1.508
19	Malaysia	1.513
20	Belgium	1.523
21	Qatar	1.524
22	Australia	1.525
23	Mauritius	1.546
24	Norway	1.550
25	Estonia	1.563
26	Slovakia	1.578
27	Latvia	1.582
28	Sweden	1.625
29	Poland	1.634
30	Bulgaria	1.643
31	Romania	1.649
32	Spain	1.649
33	Taiwan	1.649
34	Italy	1.662
35	Kuwait	1.669
36	Lithuania	1.671
37	UK	1.693
38	North Macedonia	1.713
39	Costa Rica	1.731
40	Albania	1.745
41	Vietnam	1.745
42	Botswana	1.762
43	South Korea	1.763
44	Mongolia	1.765
45	Montenegro	1.772
46	Laos	1.779
47	Sierra Leone	1.792
48	Oman	1.794
49	Timor-Leste	1.796
50	Uruguay	1.798
51	Ghana	1.799
52	Senegal	1.827
53	Indonesia	1.829
54	Argentina	1.837
55	Madagascar	1.846
56	Namibia	1.859
57	Moldova	1.873
58	Chile	1.874
59	The Gambia	1.888
60	Greece	1.890
61	Bosnia & Herz.	1.892
62	Jordan	1.895
63	Zambia	1.898
64	Cyprus	1.904
65	Serbia	1.921
66	Armenia	1.929
67	France	1.939
68	Panama	1.942
68	Paraguay	1.942
70	Trinidad & Tobago	1.946
70	Kosovo	1.946
70	Liberia	1.946
73	Cambodia	1.947
74	Malawi	1.970
75	UAE	1.979
76	Kazakhstan	1.98
77	Jamaica	1.986
78	Bolivia	2.001
79	Nepal	2.006
80	China	2.009
81	Tunisia	2.010
82	Equatorial Guinea	2.013
83	Dominican Rep.	2.019
84	Morocco	2.020
84	Angola	2.020
86	Uzbekistan	2.033
87	Guinea-Bissau	2.045
88	Bangladesh	2.051
88	Rwanda	2.051
90	Côte d’Ivoire	2.053
91	Tanzania	2.058
92	Thailand	2.061
93	Gabon	2.068
94	Georgia	2.071
95	Azerbaijan	2.090
96	Algeria	2.094
97	Ecuador	2.095
97	Papua New Guinea	2.095
99	Cuba	2.103
100	Turkmenistan	2.107
101	Kyrgyzstan	2.110
102	Tajikistan	2.114
103	Guatemala	2.130
103	Peru	2.130
103	Togo	2.130
106	Guyana	2.134
107	Sri Lanka	2.136
108	Bahrain	2.145
109	Eswatini	2.168
110	Benin	2.177
111	Lesotho	2.191
112	Djibouti	2.196
113	Congo	2.210
114	Mauritania	2.228
115	Philippines	2.229
116	Belarus	2.248
117	Kenya	2.254
118	Mozambique	2.259
119	Saudi Arabia	2.26
120	Honduras	2.265
121	Egypt	2.267
122	El Salvador	2.279
123	Nicaragua	2.294
124	Zimbabwe	2.300
124	Uganda	2.300
126	India	2.314
127	Guinea	2.359
128	Burundi	2.393
129	Haiti	2.395
130	South Africa	2.405
131	USA	2.448
132	Brazil	2.462
133	Eritrea	2.505
134	Palestine	2.538
135	Lebanon	2.581
136	Mexico	2.599
137	Libya	2.605
138	Niger	2.625
139	Cameroon	2.660
140	Venezuela	2.693
140	Colombia	2.693
142	Chad	2.699
143	Israel	2.706
144	Nigeria	2.713
145	Myanmar	2.741
146	Pakistan	2.745
147	Türkiye	2.800
147	Iran	2.800
149	North Korea	2.848
150	Burkina Faso	2.868
151	Ethiopia	2.872
152	Central African Republic	2.934
153	Mali	2.963
154	Iraq	3.006
155	Sudan	3.023
156	Somalia	3.036
157	Ukraine	3.043
158	Russia	3.142
159	DR Congo	3.214
160	South Sudan	3.221
161	Syria	3.294
162	Yemen	3.350
163	Afghanistan	3.448

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Lead image: ANDREW MAYOVSKYY/SHUTTERSTOCK