Safety should be at the top of the list of your concerns when traveling during this Christmas season. Using data from the World Economic Fund, Which? Travel put a list together of the safest countries for travel based on their crime rates, natural disasters, and health risk.

 

With only 36 people murdered since 2000, Iceland came in first place when it comes to safety. Treading right behind it is the United Arab Emirates. Singapore and Spain came in next, and Jordan and Morocco followed. Get ready to be shocked because the United States came in fifteenth place, beat by countries like Vietnam in twelfth place. The last five on the list were Mexico, India, Thailand, Turkey and sadly, South Africa.

 

Terrorism could be added to the list as a crime, but according to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, you can’t escape it. Even though Iceland and Japan were listed as safe zones, terrorism can’t be ruled out. Studies list certain countries as ‘likely’ or ‘very likely.’ Topping the ‘very likely’ list is Australia, Jordan, France,  India, Thailand, Turkey and unfortunately, the US.

 

Iceland had a top ranking when it comes to natural disasters, coming in second place to beautiful Barbados and UAE coming in third. With a 1.21 percent rate, Barbados had the lowest risk of natural disasters for travelers and Japan came in as the riskiest. Japan suffered a great deal of turmoil in 2018 alone, getting hit by tsunamis, earthquakes, typhoons, torrential rain and scorching heat this past summer. The country is still dealing with the extreme damage done to airports and roadways.

 

Sickness comes from all over the globe but diseases like malaria caused low ranking for India, South Africa, and Thailand on the health list. For Singapore and Australia, dengue fever is a major concern for travelers. Japan, UAE, and the U.S hold a very low health risk among the countries studied.