The 10 Safest Countries for Solo Female Travel in 2019

If you’re a solo female traveler planning a trip, safety is typically a top concern for you. Travel website Asher & Lyric created a Women’s Danger Index, which ranks the 50 most visited tourist destinations in the world based on eight factors: how safe it is to walk alone at night, intentional homicide of women, non-partner sexual violence, intimate partner violence, legal discrimination, global gender gap, gender inequality index, and attitudes toward violence against women. Each factor was weighted and given a score, which added up to the danger index number; for this study, the higher scores mean the more dangerous countries. Here’s how the countries stacked up.

The 10 Safest Countries for Solo Female Travelers

1. Spain | 212.04
2. Singapore | 245.26
3. Ireland | 247.31
4. Austria | 251.63
5. Switzerland | 252.78
6. Norway | 259.92
7. Portugal | 277.58
8. Croatia | 286.53
9. Canada | 290.83
10. Poland | 291.23

The 10 Most Dangerous Countries for Solo Female Travelers

1. South Africa | 771.82
2. Brazil | 624.28
3. Russia | 592.71
4. Mexico | 576.05
5. Iran | 553.11
6. The Dominican Republic | 551.32
7. Egypt | 546.91
8. Morocco | 542.75
9. India | 541.25
10. Thailand | 533.22

South Africa received the worst score in the “safe to walk alone at night” category as well as intentional homicide of women and non-partner sexual violence, while Spain did best in the intimate partner violence and global gender gap categories.

As a solo female traveler, I have been to four of the 10 countries listed as “most dangerous” and would still recommend traveling there, but with some precautions. Traveling on a facilitated group trip with a tour company is always a good idea if you want the security of a group, and U.S. residents should make sure to enroll in STEP, the government program that will send travelers important information and alerts on their destination while they’re traveling abroad.

What to Wear on Your Solo Travels

More from SmarterTravel:

• The Ultimate Checklist for Traveling Abroad
• How to Be Safe and Culturally Sensitive When You Travel
• Essential Tips for Solo Travel