Avoid the crowds, travel safe: These are the safest countries to visit in 2025
From Iceland to Australia, see which nations top the global safety list and why fewer people often means fewer risks.
Choosing your next travel destination can be overwhelming with so many incredible options around the globe. But if safety is your top priority, one country has claimed the top spot in 2025, after jumping eight places in just a year.
Iceland has been crowned the world’s safest country by Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection. The travel insurance company has published annual safety rankings since 2018, and in its latest update, Europe’s westernmost nation has climbed from ninth in 2024 to first place.
How was the list of the world’s safest countries created?
To create its list, the company:
- Surveyed a large group of American travelers who visited countries in the last five years
- Pulled data from the Global Peace Index
- Gathered statistics from Numbeo, the world’s largest cost-of-living and quality-of-life database
- Averaged GeoSure Global safety scores from major cities in each country
- Combined the results into an overall safety score
The world’s 15 safest countries
- Iceland
- Australia
- Canada
- Ireland
- Switzerland
- New Zealand
- Germany
- Norway
- Japan
- Denmark
- Portugal
- Spain
- United Kingdom
- Netherlands
- Sweden
Iceland replaces Canada, which drops to third place, at the top of the list. Australia is another big mover, up eight spots to second place, while Ireland and Switzerland also feature in the top five, as they did in 2024.
The safest countries tend to be the least crowded
As a general rule, very or relatively sparsely populated nations tend to be the safest, with Iceland, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and Norway taking six of the top eight spots.
That means avoiding packed tourism hubs, like Thailand’s tropical islands or Europe’s most visited capitals, could not only save you time and money, but also reduce stress and keep you out of harm’s way.
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