With the political landscape as volatile as it is, it’s beneficial to know how safe your travel destination is. Every year, the Institute for Economics and Peace publishes its Global Peace Index, a comprehensive analysis of the world’s safety. The results of the 2025 study highlight the safest countries in the world, and according to the new rankings, the top five most peaceful countries are:
- Iceland
- Ireland
- New Zealand
- Austria
- Switzerland.
All the top five countries rank highly because they have resilient institutions, low corruption, and well-functioning infrastructure, what the research calls positive peace indicators, making them ideal destinations for travel.
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The U.K. ranks at number 30 (up two places from last year), and the U.S. ranks at number 128, maintaining its position directly below Mozambique, South Africa, and Kenya.
In 2020, Iceland was in first place, with New Zealand, Portugal, Austria, and Denmark rounding out the top five. The annual studies frequently note that most of these safest countries in the world are also places that regularly appear on lists of the best places to visit. Canada, Singapore, the Czech Republic, Japan, and Switzerland were among the top ten that year. In 2025, Singapore, Portugal, Denmark, Slovenia, and Finland are now among the top ten.
It makes sense, of course; a less peaceful world leads to increased economic instability and a significant reduction in global GDP. If people are preoccupied with fighting or concerned about their lives, they cannot create art, build homes, run businesses, or host visiting families.
In 2023, Steve Killelea, founder of the IEP, said, “We all want to relax when we’re on holiday, and there is no better place to do so than in countries that are free of violence. This is one of the reasons why each of the top ten most peaceful countries are also some of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.”
Killelea adds, “This should show governments that peace comes with substantial economic benefits, as well as improving the health and well-being of their citizens. So, next time you consider where to go on holiday, why don’t you vote with your feet by choosing a peaceful country?”
The Safest Countries In The World—The World Is Getting Less Peaceful
In 2020, the Global Peace Index noted that the economic impact of COVID-19 could negatively affect political stability, international relations, conflict, civil rights, and violence, potentially undoing many years of socio-economic development. At that time, it noted that “the gap between the least and most peaceful countries continues to grow” and that climate change would only exacerbate world safety as climate refugees become increasingly common. All of these conclusions have been borne out.
By 2022, the Global Peace Index ranked eight of the world’s safest countries in Europe, with Iceland still being the most peaceful. New Zealand, Denmark, Portugal, and Slovenia rounded out the top five safest countries. The U.S. ranked 122nd, one place lower than in the previous two years, and the U.K. ranked 33rd. It noted that, yet again, the gap between the most peaceful and least peaceful countries continued to grow. Afghanistan was the least peaceful country in the world for the fourth consecutive year, with Yemen, Syria, South Sudan, and Iraq rounding out the bottom five.
In 2023, the Global Peace Index reported that global conflict had reached its highest level in 15 years. The U.K., amongst other countries, had recently added 15% of the world’s landmass to a list where travel was ill-advised.
The study found too that U.S. homicide rates were 6 times greater than the average across Western Europe, driven by gun violence and political tensions. Afghanistan was the least peaceful country (for the eighth consecutive year), followed by Yemen, Syria, and South Sudan—the Democratic Republic of the Congo surpassed Iraq to take fifth place.
And now, in 2025, the study finds that the trend is continuing and that “global peacefulness continues to decline and that many of the leading factors that precede major conflicts are higher than they have been since the end of World War Two.”
It notes that more countries are increasing their levels of militarization in response to rising geopolitical tensions and conflict. Additionally, it notes that traditional alliances are dissolving, leading to increased economic uncertainty. None of this makes the world more ideal for travelers.
There are currently more than 59 active state-based conflicts, more than at any other time since World War Two and three more than last year. Conflicts are also being less successfully resolved and are increasingly internationalized—78 countries are involved in conflicts beyond their borders.
In 2025, Russia is the least peaceful country, according to the Index, for the first time in the world, with Ukraine, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Yemen rounding out the bottom five. And while Western and Central Europe is the most peaceful region, home to eight of the ten most peaceful countries, its peacefulness is falling too, and has been over the past four years. The Middle East and North Africa region is, globally, the world’s least peaceful place.
In 2025, Killelea says that “rising conflict deaths, accelerating geopolitical fragmentation, and the erosion of social cohesion are driving ‘The Great Fragmentation’ – a fundamental reshaping of the global order not seen since the Cold War.” In this context, it makes even more sense to know everything about your travel destination before you book.
In this global ranking, Greece is placed 45th, while Cyprus ranks 68th, between Uzbekistan and Senegal.
