Given the rise of conflicts across the globe, travellers are having to bear the brunt of curtailing their holidays, or struggling to find alternatives when their flights are suddenly cancelled. Given the relative disruption, it’s no wonder that Wise Travellers are seeking out calmer and quitter waters.
Within the last few weeks, the safest and happiest places on earth for 2025 have been released, and we’re delighted to reveal where they are. They may well offer travel adventures that you may never have even considered.
Safe nations
The Global Peace Index (GPI) ranks the safest and most peaceful countries and is published annually by the Institute for Economics and Peace, which defines itself as “an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to shifting the world’s focus to peace as a positive, achievable and tangible measure of human wellbeing and progress.”
The report researches countries to determine which are the safest and which are the most dangerous.
It finds Iceland to be the safest country on earth, while the likes of Sudan and Yemen are below war-torn Palestine and Ukraine at the bottom of the list.
A total of 163 countries – covering 99.7% of the world’s population - are featured in the GPI report which ranks each country’s level of safety or danger based upon 23 indicators.
The world's 20 safest places are:
- Iceland
- Ireland
- New Zealand
- Austria
- Switzerland
- Singapore
- Portugal
- Denmark
- Slovenia
- Finland
- Czechia
- Japan
- Malaysia
- Netherlands
- Canada
- Belgium
- Hungary
- Australia
- Croatia
- Germany
Shiny, happy people
For travellers looking for a happier experience, may well consult the World Happiness Report which shows that half of the top 10 happiest countries in the world are in the EU.
Countries with small populations dominate the rankings, while countries with populations of less than 15 million generally have a positive evaluation of their quality of life.
Finland was named the world's happiest country for the eighth consecutive year, according to the World Happiness Report 2025, followed by Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden.
This findings are measured by global contentment based on life evaluations, social support, freedom of choice, GDP per capita, and additional indicators of well-being. The data is drawn from the Gallup World Poll and various supplementary sources.
The top 15 Happiest Nations are:
- Finland
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Sweden
- Netherlands
- Costa Rica
- Norway
- Israel
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Switzerland
- Belgium
- Ireland
One of the most significant changes comes from Costa Rica, which rose from 12 to 6. This achievement is the highest ranking ever for a Latin American nation, and positions it as the strongest-performing non-European country in this year’s report.
Andy Probert is an independent journalist who writes about global travel news, airlines, airports, and business. His work has appeared globally on the BBC, and in many national newspapers and magazines.
