The United Arab Emirates has been ranked as second in a rating of the world’s safest nations.
A survey by the living database site Numbeo gave the UAE a score of 84.5 in the global safety index, fractionally behind the tiny European principality of Andorra.
Andorra, with a population of just 80,000, ranked slightly ahead with an index score of 84.7.
Numbeo’s safety index considers five different factors when coming up with its final score, which is determined by survey responses from the last 36 months by visitors to the living database’s website.
It takes into account general perception of crime levels, perceived safety while walking at night, as well as concerns about violent crime, burglary and discrimination.
A higher score means that the country is considered very safe and figures are continuously updated on the platform.
Qatar and Oman also ranked in the top five safest nations, with Qatar placed third with a score of 84.2 while Oman came in fifth with a score of 81.7.
Taiwan rounds off the top five with a total score of 82.9. Elsewhere in the top 10, are Isle of Man, Hong Kong, Armenia, Singapore and Japan.
The UAE’s place on the list of safest nations was unchanged year-on-year, having also come second last year. The same is true for Andorra, Qatar and Oman. Saudi Arabia saw a big improvement, climbing from 26th to 14th while Bahrain dropped slightly from 13th to 16th. The UK dropped from 84th to 87th while the US maintained its position in 89th.
Palestine was named as the world’s 61st safest place, despite the war in Gaza. Ukraine, at war with Russia, was named as the 80th safest place on the planet.
There were 147 nations listed in the poll which said Venezuela was the least safe of all.
Andorra Tops List of Safest Nations
Andorra is a landlocked principality situated in the Pyrenees mountain range between Spain and France, and is one of the smallest countries in Europe at 468 square kilometres – with a tiny population of approximately 85,000.
It is almost entirely geared towards tourism, with tax-free shopping and ski resorts among the towns nestled in the mountains.
Additionally, the country boasts a strong economy, virtually no crime and the world’s second highest life expectancy, all contributing factors to its general level of safety.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Abu Dhabi was the world’s safest city by Numbeo.
Achieving a score of 88, Abu Dhabi has won the title for the last nine years in a row, while Dubai came second with a 83.9 score and Sharjah ranked third with a score of 83.8.
Ras al-Khaimah was in fourth place and fifth was Taipei.
