Ranked: safest countries in the world 2024

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

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

However, the world is not as safe as a year ago as the average level of global peacefulness has deteriorated for the 12th time in 16 years. Ninety-seven countries recorded a decline in peacefulness while 65 registered an improvement according to the latest Global Peace Index (GPI).

Yemen is the least peaceful country in the world in 2024. This is the first year that Yemen has been ranked last with the country falling 24 places since the inception of the index. The Yemeni Civil War, between Houthi rebels and the Saudi-backed internationally recognised government, has been ongoing since 2014 and is considered the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Yemen is followed by Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan and Ukraine. Despite showing improvements, Afghanistan remains one of the most unsafe countries in the world and continues to be severely affected by the 2021 Taliban takeover.

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine continues to have a significant impact on global peacefulness while the Israel-Gaza war has seen the two countries record the highest (Israel) and fourth-highest (Palestine) declines in peacefulness.

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.
• Yemen is the world’s least peaceful country for the first time.
• The average level of global peacefulness declined by 0.56% in 2024.
• This is the 12th time in the last 16 years that global peacefulness has declined.
• Conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine were the primary drivers of the global fall in peacefulness, as battle deaths reached 162,000 in 2023.
• In total, 97 countries deteriorated in peacefulness, more than any year since the inception of the index in 2008.
• While only 65 countries improved their peacefulness.
• Europe remains the most peaceful region in the world and is home to seven of the 10 safest countries in the world.
• The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remains the least peaceful, containing four of the 10 least peaceful countries.
• North America saw the largest regional deterioration, driven by increases in violent crime and fear of violence.
• El Salvador, UAE, Nicaragua, Greece and Myanmar recorded the largest improvements in peacefulness.
• Israel, Ecuador, Gabon, Palestine and Haiti 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 Kuwait the most peaceful in the Middle East.
• Argentina is the most peaceful country in Latin America.
• The number of forcibly displaced people around the world has tripled from 31 million in 2008 to 117 million in 2024 according to the latest UN figures.
• The USA has dropped one place to 132nd while the UK has moved up three spots to 34th.

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	1.112
2	Ireland	1.303
3	Austria	1.313
4	New Zealand	1.323
5	Singapore	1.339
6	Switzerland	1.350
7	Portugal	1.372
8	Denmark	1.382
9	Slovenia	1.395
10	Malaysia	1.427
11	Canada	1.449
12	Czech Rep	1.459
13	Finland	1.474
14	Hungary	1.502
15	Croatia	1.504
16	Belgium	1.510
17	Japan	1.525
18	Netherlands	1.527
19	Australia	1.536
20	Germany	1.542
21	Bhutan	1.564
22	Mauritius	1.577
23	Spain	1.597
24	Estonia	1.615
25	Kuwait	1.622
26	Bulgaria	1.629
27	Slovakia	1.634
28	Norway	1.638
29	Qatar	1.656
30	Latvia	1.661
31	Lithuania	1.672
32	Poland	1.678
33	Italy	1.692
34	UK	1.703
35	Montenegro	1.746
36	Romania	1.755
37	Oman	1.761
38	North Macedonia	1.764
39	Sweden	1.782
40	Greece	1.793
41	Vietnam	1.802
42	Albania	1.809
43	Taiwan	1.818
44	Madagascar	1.838
45	Mongolia	1.845
46	South Korea	1.848
47	Argentina	1.855
48	Indonesia	1.857
49	Laos	1.861
50	Botswana	1.863
51	Timor-Leste	1.882
52	Uruguay	1.893
53	UAE	1.897
54	Serbia	1.930
55	Ghana	1.938
56	Kosovo	1.945
57	Zambia	1.948
58	Costa Rica	1.950
59	Kazakhstan	1.954
60	Uzbekistan	1.957
61	Bosnia-Herz	1.961
62	Namibia	1.972
63	Moldova	1.976
64	Chile	1.978
65	Tanzania	1.987
66	Sierra Leone	1.993
67	Jordan	1.998
68	Bolivia	2.009
69	Liberia	2.025
70	Cambodia	2.028
71	Tajikistan	2.035
72	Angola	2.043
73	Paraguay	2.044
73	Tunisia	2.044
75	Thailand	2.048
76	Armenia	2.052
77	Kyrgyzstan	2.053
78	Morocco	2.054
79	Malawi	2.063
80	Nepal	2.069
81	Bahrain	2.072
82	The Gambia	2.079
82	Turkmenistan	2.079
84	Senegal	2.084
85	Guinea-Bissau	2.085
86	France	2.088
87	Trinidad & Tobago	2.092
88	China	2.101
88	Cyprus	2.101
90	Algeria	2.110
91	Jamaica	2.119
92	Rwanda	2.120
93	Bangladesh	2.126
94	Equatorial Guinea	2.132
95	Mauritania	2.136
96	Panama	2.140
97	Dominican Rep	2.157
98	Cuba	2.160
99	Peru	2.179
100	Georgia	2.195
100	Sri Lanka	2.195
102	Saudi Arabia	2.206
103	Eswatini	2.209
104	Philippines	2.210
105	Egypt	2.212
106	Azerbaijan	2.248
107	El Salvador	2.250
107	Mozambique	2.250
109	Côte d’Ivoire	2.255
110	Congo	2.261
111	Guyana	2.286
112	Belarus	2.291
113	Nicaragua	2.295
114	Benin	2.306
115	Papua New Guinea	2.315
116	India	2.319
117	Guatemala	2.332
118	Gabon	2.372
119	Djibouti	2.374
120	Togo	2.381
121	Zimbabwe	2.396
122	Kenya	2.409
123	Honduras	2.415
124	Guinea	2.423
125	Lesotho	2.461
126	Uganda	2.477
127	South Africa	2.507
128	Libya	2.528
129	Burundi	2.567
130	Ecuador	2.572
131	Brazil	2.589
132	USA	2.622
133	Iran	2.682
134	Lebanon	2.693
135	Chad	2.704
136	Eritrea	2.748
137	Cameroon	2.773
138	Mexico	2.778
139	Türkiye	2.780
140	Pakistan	2.783
140	Niger	2.792
142	Venezuela	2.821
143	Haiti	2.827
144	Ethiopia	2.845
145	Palestine	2.872
146	Colombia	2.887
147	Nigeria	2.907
148	Myanmar	2.943
149	Burkina Faso	2.969
150	Central African Rep	3.009
151	Iraq	3.045
152	North Korea	3.055
153	Somalia	3.091
154	Mali	3.095
155	Israel	3.115
156	Syria	3.173
157	Russia	3.249
158	DR Congo	3.264
159	Ukraine	3.280
160	Afghanistan	3.294
161	South Sudan	3.324
162	Sudan	3.327
163	Yemen	3.397

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Lead image: ANDREW MAYOVSKYY/SHUTTERSTOCK