Singapore Crowned World’s Least Violent Nation While Securing Second Place in Global Safety Rankings

Singapore has been ranked Asia’s safest country for travellers and placed second globally, according to a study by insurance comparison platform HelloSafe.

The Republic was assessed to have the least violence worldwide.

The HelloSafe Safety Index evaluated 35 criteria across five main categories to determine each nation’s security situation. Iceland topped the global rankings with a score of 18.23 points, while Singapore followed closely with 19.99 points.

Singapore Leads in Violence Prevention and Regional Safety Rankings

Singapore was No. 1 in the “Violence in society” category. HelloSafe stated that Singapore “has the least violence”.

This category takes into account the general perception of crime by residents, political stability, terrorism, rate of homicides and violent crimes, civil unrest, and accessibility of weapons, among other things. It made up one-fifth of the total score.

Singapore also fared well under “Involvement in internal or external armed conflicts” (second place) and “healthcare infrastructure” (third). In the “Occurrence of natural disasters” category, Singapore came in seventh.

Finally, Singapore was 20th in the “Militarisation of the country” category.

The “Occurrence of natural disasters” category examines natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and floods, as well as the risks associated with climate change, such as rising sea levels. The category is weighted at 30 points.

The “Militarisation of the country” category takes into account military spending, the presence of heavy and nuclear weapons, and participation in international peacekeeping missions.

Europe had 12 of the top 15 countries on the list. Aside from Singapore, Bhutan is ranked 11th and Qatar in 12th place.

Philippines Ranks as World’s Most Dangerous Travel Destination

The Philippines was ranked as the least-safe country in the world with a score of 82.32. It came ahead of Colombia (79.21) and Mexico (78.42) in the top three.

Other Asian countries in the top 15 list of least-safe countries were India (No. 4), Yemen (No. 6), Indonesia (No. 7), Pakistan (No. 10), Iran (No. 12), Syria (No. 13) and Bangladesh (No. 15). The United States (59.47) was ranked the 14th least-safe country in the world.

Malaysia received a score of 36.92, which puts it in the “Safe” category. Vietnam (51.33) and Thailand (52.39) were classified as “Not Very Safe”. Indonesia’s score of 72.94 put the country in the “Dangerous” category.

France is the 80th safest country in the world and 34th in Europe, with a score of 36 points. HelloSafe attributed its low score to the threat of terrorism, which remains “very present” in France.

The top 15 safest countries globally are as follows: Iceland, Singapore, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Finland, Ireland, Hungary, Bhutan, Qatar, Slovakia, Estonia, and Portugal.

HelloSafe said the ranking is not meant to reflect how attractive a country is to tourists but is “a global index of security and safety based on the largest possible number of objective criteria”.

The company added that the results were “somewhat surprising and at times ran counter to preconceived notions”.