The 10 Safest Countries in the World, Ranked by Perception
The U.S. doesn't come close to being seen as one of the most secure countries in the world.
The Safest Countries in the World
Safety is one of the top priorities for nations worldwide, be it in better protecting its citizens on the streets, guarding them against wrongdoing, or even safeguarding them against online crime.
While a certain island nation is perceived as the safest in the world, European countries dominate this category in the 2020 Best Countries report. Scandinavian countries, as well as Switzerland, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands perform better in this category, as people around the world associate them with a high level of safety.
Being seen as safe is one of nine equally weighted attributes used to develop the Quality of Life sub-ranking in the 2020 Best Countries report. The survey is based on a study that surveyed more than 20,000 global citizens from four regions to assess perceptions of 73 countries on 65 different metrics
The following are the top 10 countries viewed as the safest. The U.S. fails to make the list, coming in at No. 32.
The Netherlands
Austria
Finland
New Zealand
Australia
Denmark
Norway
Canada
Switzerland
Safest Countries in the World, Ranked by Perception
- Switzerland
- Canada
- Norway
- Denmark
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Sweden
- Finland
- Austria
- Netherlands
Want to Know More?
The 2019 U.S. News Best Countries rankings, formed in partnership with BAV Group, a unit of global marketing communications company VMLY&R, and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, aim to gauge global perceptions of the world's largest economies.
Find out how your country did in the 2020 Best Countries rankings and explore more news, data and analysis on U.S. News.



Sweden