So in this article, we would get to know the safest places to study abroad, and a brief description of each country and its citizens. Also embedded in this article is the ranking of top European countries in the personal safety category of the Social Progress Index (SPI). You don’t want to compromise your safety and we’d help you with that.
Safest Places to Study Abroad
Aside from good and quality education, the safety of the country is a factor that should not be looked down upon. It would be a sad event for an international student to move to a country in crisis and ends up losing properties or at worst, life.
As an international student, you should consider the crime rate of the country you want to study in, political stability, and traffic safety. These will add up to your conclusion about the decision of the country is one of the safest places to study abroad or not.
Below are the 10 safest places to study abroad for international students.
1. DENMARK
Denmark is a Nordic country and shares a border with Germany, officially known as the kingdom of Denmark. It is home to 5.78 million people, having an archipelago of about 443 islands with dandy coasts on the flat terrain.
The citizens of Denmark are friendly people living in safe communities and have a low crime rate. The languages spoken are Danish and English.
Denmark is one of the most socially and economically developed countries in the world, having high standards of living. Danish education is innovative and qualifications are recognized around the world. Its capital, Copenhagen, home to 770,000 people plays host to 3 universities and several other higher institutions of education.
This safe country for international students to study abroad attracts up to 1,500 International Students yearly due to its peaceful environment.
It makes up number one on our list of the safest places to study abroad.
2. NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand is an island country that is located in the Pacific Ocean.
It comprises North and South. New Zealand is a safe country having low crime rates and it is the most popular place to study abroad with large amounts of international students it is one of the least corrupt countries.
Are you scared of wildlife? You shouldn’t be because, in New Zealand, there isn’t any deadly wildlife for you to get worried about which is cool for people like us. lol.
The community of New Zealand which is a rich mix of cultures ranging from Maorin, Pakeha, Asian and Pacific populations is welcoming to foreigners. This community has a world-class reputation for excellent research and creative energy having a unique approach to education. Based on the Global Peace Index, New Zealand has 1.15 points.
3. AUSTRIA
Number three on our list of the safest places to study abroad in Austria. It is located in Central Europe with an excellent higher education system with an incredibly low tuition fee even for international students. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of GDP and is also home to over 808 million people.
This safe nation for students has locals who speak so many dialects of standard German and almost everyone is fluent in English. The community is also friendly with a very low crime rate. Austria also earned a score of 1.275, with peaceful elections and low weapon imports based on the Global Peace Index
4. JAPAN
Japan is known to be an island country in East Asia which is located in the Pacific Ocean. Home to over 30 million people, Japan has a rich culture and heritage among the people. We all know that Japan has gotten its share of violence in the past times.
After World War II, Japan renounced its right to declare war thus making Japan a peaceful and a very perfect place to study. Citizens of Japan currently have and enjoy the highest life expectancy in the whole world with a low birthrate and aging population.
Japan holds communities in high regard, thereby encouraging the country to be a very safe and accepting place. Just recently in 2020, the government set a target of welcoming 300,000 international students.
In Japan, there are small police stations that the locals call “Koban”. These are strategically placed throughout the cities and neighborhoods around. This marks a haven for students, especially international students who may need to ask for directions if they are new to the area. Also, their ubiquitous presence in Japan encourages citizens to turn in lost property, including cash. Wonderful right?
Japan has a score of 1.36 on the global peace index because of its low homicide rate as its citizens cannot get their hands on weapons. It is also sweet to not that their transport system is so good, especially its high-speed trains.
5. CANADA
Canada is the second-largest country in the world sharing its southern border with the US and North Western border with Alaska. It is home to 37 million people and is the most peaceful country on the planet with a very friendly population.
It is one of the safest places to study abroad for international students, having something for everyone and is almost impossible if not impossible to dislike.
6. SWEDEN
Sweden makes the number 6 on our list and has a total number of 300,000 international students studying in it. Sweden offers a multicultural environment for all students.
It is a very prosperous and welcoming country offering many educational, work, and leisure opportunities to everyone. Sweden is viewed as a model country to many for its peaceful and friendly society coupled with its stable economy.
7. IRELAND
Ireland is an island nation that is home to 6.5 million people in the world. It is known to be the second most populated island in Europe. Ireland has a welcoming population, a small country with a big heart as many will call it. It is rated twice as the friendliest country in the world with an English-speaking environment.
8. ICELAND
Iceland is also an island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. Since 2008, this country has been named the most peaceful country in the world and the hottest destination for tourists from different parts of the world.
This safe place for students has very low homicide rates, few people in jail (per capita), and few terrorist events. Iceland has a point of 1.078 in the peace index thus making it a peaceful place. It’s a great study abroad location for students.
9. THE CZECH REPUBLIC
One of the safest places to study abroad, having 1.375 points for its low per capita military spending due to its very low crime rate and few acts of violent crimes.
The Czech Republic goes the extra mile to ensure the safety of its visitors. For example, every lamppost in Prague has a six-digit number posted at eye level. You may ask what are these numbers for? Well, here it is, you may require assistance from the police or emergency services, the codes on the lampposts will come in handy, and you would be able to pinpoint your location when asked if you’re unable to offer an exact address.
10. FINLAND
This country has a slogan, “live and let live” and it is astonishing the way the citizens of this country abide by this slogan thus making the environment peaceful, friendly, and welcoming. Note, in the Global Peace Index, countries with values of 1 are peaceful countries while those with values of 5 are not peaceful countries and thus are not included in the category of the safest places to study abroad.
Safest Region in the World to Study Abroad
Europe is generally considered the safest region in the world and because of that, most the countries are being considered by international students to study Abroad.
As stated in the introduction of this article, we have the ranking of the top 15 European countries in the “Personal Safety” category of the Social Progress Index (SPI). To grade a country as one of the safest places to study abroad, SPI takes into consideration three factors which are; crime rates, traffic safety, and political stability.
Below are the countries with the highest SPI in Europe:
- Iceland – 93.0 SPI
- Norway – 88.7 SPI
- Netherlands (Holland) – 88.6 SPI
- Switzerland – 88.3 SPI
- Austria – 88.0 SPI
- Ireland – 87.5 SPI
- Denmark – 87.2 SPI
- Germany – 87.2 SPI
- Sweden – 87.1 SPI
- Czech Republic – 86.1 SPI
- Slovenia – 85.4 SPI
- Portugal – 85.3 SPI
- Slovakia – 84.6 SPI
- Poland – 84.1 SPI
Why is the USA not on the List?
You may be wondering why the most popular and everyone’s dream country isn’t listed in our list and also in the top 15 safest places to study abroad based on GPI and SPI.
Well, you have to keep reading to find out.
America is not a stranger to crime. Most of the concerns for safety that international students have will always be related to crime and the potential threat of being a victim of crime. Unfortunately, indeed, the USA is far from the safest country in the world for both travelers and students based on statistics.
Taking a general look at the Global Peace Index of 2019, measuring the peacefulness and general safety of about 163 nations across the globe, the United States of America ranks 128th. Surprisingly, the USA is below South Africa ranking 127th, and just above Saudi Arabia ranking 129th. Putting this into consideration, countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Timor Leste, and Kuwait, all rank way above the USA on the GPI.
When we take a quick look at the crime rates in the US, this great country has been declining significantly since the early 1990s. That being said, the USA had “the highest incarceration rate in the world” with over 2.3 million people imprisoned in 2009 alone. This is not a good statistic you would agree with us.
Now, most of these crimes are violent robberies, assaults, and property offenses which include burglary not forgetting to add drug offenses.
It is also worth to put into account that America’s crime rate is much higher than other developed countries, especially European countries.
The places these crimes are taking place is also a factor to consider when choosing to study abroad in the USA. It is crucial to take note that these crimes vary depending on the community and location in which you want to study, with large cities having much higher rates of crime than rural areas.
Now you know why your dream country couldn’t make it into our list of safest places to study abroad. buzzbongo wishes you a safe study abroad.
