The new study has been carried out by Global Finance magazine and considers war, crime and the risk posed by natural disasters

The ranking sees Iceland as the world’s safest country and the Philippines as the most dangerous.

Iceland has a very low crime rate and despite active volcanoes, there is a low risk to life, the study found.

In the meantime, the United States came in at number 65, due to the risk from violent crime and in particular due to its high homicide rate.

The United Kingdom scored 38th position.

“Global Finance magazine’s safety index factors in risks of natural disaster with crime, terrorism and war to present a more rounded analysis of the world’s safest countries,” they said.

Unsurprisingly, European countries scooped 15 out of 20 of the top spots as safest countries on the list

The top ten are: Iceland, Switzerland, Finland, Portugal, Austria, Norway, Qatar, Singapore, Denmark and New Zealand.

Most of the countries ranking the lowest have a combination of risk from all three threats to safety. These countries are often economically developing and are located in areas with a high risk of natural disaster, they said.

Global Finance attribute the scores to developed economies and health care systems which protect people from dangers such as starvation and disease.

They said: “The new rankings feature update sources, an updated formula, and lots of interesting dynamics that affect where countries are ranked.”

They noted that if just one of the three risks are high, it will have a limited effect on the country’s overall score.

One country may have poor scores in peace, security, and experience frequent natural disasters, others may experience war and famine but also have a low possibility of natural disasters.

The new safety index score, factors in risks of natural disaster, crime, terrorism and war to present a more rounded analysis of the world’s safest countries, they said.

Some countries though, do not appear on the list at all, including Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Global Finance is a monthly magazine founded in 1987, with readers in 163 countries and headquarters in New York.

The new study cites sources as the World Economic Forum and the Global Institute for Peace to collect data.

Source: Cyprus Mail