Canada Was Named The Safest Place To Travel To In 2024 In A New Global Ranking
A Canadian city was also named the second-safest in the world. 🇨🇦
A person draped in a Canadian flag in Alberta.
Looking for a safe place to travel to this year? Apparently, you don't need to look far as a new ranking has named Canada the safest country to visit in the world in 2024.
Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection's Safest Places To Travel report for 2024 named Canada the top spot out of 15 countries, including nations that are usually considered some of the safest travel destinations, like Switzerland, Norway and Iceland.
To compile the list of safest countries, BHTP says it analyzed responses to its State of Travel Insurance survey, in which the travel insurance company asked people where they’ve travelled in the last five years, and only the people who have visited specific countries were allowed to rate those countries on safety.
They also look at information presented by other sources, including the Global Peace Index, which measures the peacefulness of a country based on a multitude of indicators, as well as travel safety ratings by the U.S. State Department, to calculate a weighted score that reflects a country’s overall safety.
Canada's rank in the number one spot on the list is a notable jump from its spot in the last ranking, when it was the sixth safest country to travel to.
According to BHTP, Canada ranks highly because of its cold weather and low population density, both of which it says "make for safe travels."
The report does note that one thing to watch out for in the country is wildfires.
"Canada's plethora of forests were seemingly all burning, which has reduced air quality in most major Canadian cities. This made travel to Canada difficult for people with respiratory conditions," says BHTP.
Indeed, 2023 saw a devastating wildfire season in Canada, with fires scorching more than 15 million hectares across the country, CBC reported in September.
However, given that the report doesn't account for the possibility of natural disasters, this doesn't seem to have impacted Canada's score.
Canada managed to knock out the Netherlands, which was ranked as the safest country to travel to in the previous year's report but now ranks in fifth place in the 2024 edition.
Just behind Canada, Switzerland was ranked the second safest country to visit, with BTHP noting that it "has been synonymous with security forever."
Following Switzerland is Norway, the third-safest country to travel to in this year's list, thanks in part to a relatively low crime rate in its capital city, Oslo.
Rounding out the top five safest countries globally were Ireland in the fourth spot and the Netherlands in fifth.
While the report doesn't necessarily mean that every place in Canada is considered as safe as any other, one Canadian city was actually ranked as the second safest in the world.
Montreal was ranked as one of the top safest cities in 2024 by BHTP, getting high marks for its transportation safety.
Safe travels!
Before you get going, check out our Responsible Travel Guide so you can be informed, be safe, be smart, and most of all, be respectful on your adventure.