International travel is making a strong post-pandemic comeback, and the rise in solo female travel interrupted by COVID-19 crisis looks set to resume.
But which countries are the safest for women looking to travel alone?
Travel industry experts have analyzed over 30 countries around the world on eight factors, covering things such as violence towards women, as well as wider gender equality indicators, to find out the most and least safe international destinations for female solo travelers.
The top 10 safest countries for solo women travelers
Rank | Country – Overall safety score /10 | Women who have experienced violence | Female homicide victims (per 100,000 females) | Safety index score (out of 100) |
1 | Republic of Ireland – 7.88 | 15.0% | 0.4 | 54.52 |
2 | Austria – 7.70 | 13.0% | 1.0 | 73.92 |
3 | Norway – 7.45 | 27.0% | 0.3 | 66.15 |
4 | Slovenia – 7.19 | 13.0% | 0.5 | 77.35 |
5 | Switzerland – 7.01 | 9.8% | 0.7 | 78.32 |
6 | Spain – 6.97 | 13.0% | 0.5 | 66.13 |
7 | Portugal – 6.88 | 19.0% | 0.9 | 69.42 |
8 | Canada – 6.67 | 1.9% | 0.9 | 57.05 |
9 | Netherlands – 6.15 | 25.0% | 0.4 | 72.12 |
10 | Poland – 5.97 | 13.0% | 0.4 | 70.21 |
10 | Japan – 5.97 | 15.4% | 0.3 | 77.88 |
In first place is the Republic of Ireland with a safety score of 7.88 out of 10. The Emerald Isle scores particularly highly for the laws it has in place to protect women from violence, as well as when it comes to local attitudes toward violence against women.
In second place is Austria, with an overall score of 7.70 out of 10. The country scores particularly high when it comes to the percentage of women who feel safe walking alone at night (79%). Austria also has one of the highest safety index scores 73.92/100.
Third place goes to Norway with a safety score of 7.45 out of 10 with Scandinavian countries usually ranking highly for social progressiveness. That proves to be the case again here, with Norway scoring highly for the safety of women walking alone at night, and its laws on domestic violence.
The top 5 least safe places for solo women travelers
Rank | Country | Women who have experienced violence | Female homicide victims (per 100,000 females) | Safety index score (out of 100) |
1 | Colombia | 37.4% | 4.2 | 42.29 |
2 | Costa Rica | 36.0% | 2.3 | 46.14 |
3 | United States | 35.6% | 2.2 | 51.84 |
4 | Chile | 6.7% | 1.0 | 46.02 |
5 | Turkey | 38.0% | 0.9 | 60.31 |
The country that ranks as the least safe destination for solo women travelers is Colombia with an overall safety score of 2.25 out of 10. Columbia scored low on a series of factors such as laws to protect women.
The country with the lowest rate of domestic violence is Canada at 1.9%.
The country with the highest safety score is Switzerland scoring 78.32 out of 100.
The safest country to walk in at night is Norway where 83% of women feel safe.