Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Revealed: the safest holiday destinations in Europe

Norway, Switzerland and Slovenia top the list for safety, according to new analysis

Jo Caird
Wednesday 11 August 2021 13:46 BST
Comments
Norway is the safest tourist destination in Europe, according to new analysis
Norway is the safest tourist destination in Europe, according to new analysis (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Norway, Switzerland and Slovenia are the safest holiday destinations in Europe, according to new analysis by French travel agency Voyage Avec Nous and data firm Flashs.

Twenty-eight European nations, including the UK, were given a ranking based on five criteria: health, security (which includes overall crime rate, risk of terrorism and numbers of police officers), road deaths, robberies and intentional homicides.

Rankings for each of the five criteria drew on data from the EuroHealth Consumer Index, Global Peace Index 2021 and Eurostat.

Norway topped the table thanks to its particularly low levels of road deaths, security and murders, while Switzerland took the number two spot after coming first in the health category. Slovenia’s surprise entry at number three comes as a result of its low murder and robbery rates, and good security record.

The UK can be found at 13th in the overall rankings, let down largely by its position in the robbery table (25th). With just 28 road deaths per million inhabitants, however, the UK is beaten only by Norway and Switzerland in the road safety stakes.

In the other individual criteria, the UK ranks 14th for health, 15th for security, and 18th for intentional homicides.

The three least safe countries in Europe, according to this ranking, are Bulgaria, Lithuania and Latvia.

Greece – the seventh most visited destination by British tourists – is only slightly ahead, coming very low in the safety and road deaths rankings.

Spain, the most popular destination for UK tourists, attracting over 18 million visits in 2019, comes in at number 15.

While Spain ranks fairly well for road death and murders, its overall score was lowered by its security, robbery and health scores.

France, the second most popular spot for Brits abroad, ranks 22nd, coming near the bottom of the table for robberies and security.

Safest countries in Europe

  1. Norway
  2. Switzerland
  3. Slovenia
  4. Denmark
  5. The Netherlands
  6. Czech Republic
  7. Austria
  8. Finland
  9. Sweden
  10. Germany
  11. Ireland
  12. Slovakia
  13. UK
  14. Portugal
  15. Spain
  16. Croatia
  17. Hungary
  18. Estonia
  19. Poland
  20. Italy
  21. Belgium
  22. France
  23. Cyprus
  24. Greece
  25. Romania
  26. Bulgaria
  27. Lithuania
  28. Latvia

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in