The world's safest and most dangerous countries in 2023 revealed (2024)

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The UK has been declared the 37th safest country in the world in 2023 in an annual study that ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness.

The study - called the Global Peace Index and produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace - covers 99.7 per cent of the population and measures 'societal safety and security, domestic and international conflict and the degree of militarisation'.

The report concludes that Iceland is the safest country overall - though its publication preceded the current volcanic activity - followed by Denmark (second), Ireland (third) and New Zealand (fourth).

America ranks 131st yet again, just behind South Africa (130th) and Haiti (129th).

Afghanistan (163rd) is deemed the least peaceful country in the world for the eighth consecutive year, followed by Yemen (162nd), Syria (161st), South Sudan (160th) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (159th).

The report authors say: 'The war in Ukraine had a significant impact on global peacefulness, with Ukraine and Russia having the largest and fifth largest deteriorations in peacefulness respectively. Haiti, Mali, and Israel were the other countries with the largest deteriorations [note that the study also preceded the current conflict in Israel].'

Europe is the most peaceful region in the world, according to the study, and is home to seven of the ten most peaceful countries.

The other three most peaceful countries are in the AsiaPacific region. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remained the world's least peaceful region, the report concludes. It is home to four of the ten least peaceful countries.

The report continues: 'There are only two countries in the North American region, with Canada [11th] recording a 2.9 per cent increase in peacefulness, and the U.S experiencing a slight fall in peacefulness, with its overall score deteriorating by 0.38 per cent.

'There is a considerable disparity in peacefulness between the two countries.'

Why? The report reveals that one reason is a feeling of safety in Canada, stating: 'Less than 20 per cent of Canadians report that they do not feel safe walking alone at night in their city or neighbourhood.'

One reason for America's lowly ranking is the murder rate, with the report stating: 'The United States recorded the fourth largest overall increase in its homicide rate, which is now above six per 100,000 people and more than six times higher than most Western European countries.'

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