Today Free Charge

Join our global community of over 5 million travel and hospitality executives.

Features, Global, Tourism, Travel Agents

These are the most (& least) safe destinations for women solo travellers, according to a new study

Kristin Mariano

- October 13, 2023

The study by the travel experts at Bounce analysed countries around the world on factors such as attitudes towards violence against women, how safe women feel alone at night, and wider gender equality indicators to reveal the safest (& least safe) destinations for women travelling alone.

The top 10 safest countries for solo women travellers 2023:

Rank	Country	Percentage of women who have experienced violence*	Female homicide victims (per 100,000 females)	Safety Index Score (out of 100)	Women who feel safe walking alone at night	Attitudes toward violence against women**	Laws on domestic violence (0 = best, 1 = worst)	Global Gender Gap Index score (out of 1)	Overall Safety Score /10
1	Spain	15.0%	0.4	64.2	78%	9.6%	0.3	0.791	7.45
2	Norway	20.0%	0.6	67.5	83%	11.1%	0.3	0.879	7.41
3	Netherlands	21.0%	0.4	73.8	73%	7.1%	0.3	0.777	7.14
4	Republic of Ireland	16.0%	0.3	53.9	68%	1.4%	0.8	0.795	6.92
5	Austria	15.0%	0.9	72.4	79%	4.0%	0.3	0.740	6.83
6	Slovenia	18.0%	0.6	75.8	78%	17.1%	0.3	0.773	6.74
7	Switzerland	12.0%	0.6	75.1	81%	14.1%	0.5	0.783	6.65
8	Belgium	22.0%	0.2	51.1	58%	2.5%	0.3	0.796	6.56
9	Portugal	18.0%	0.6	69.3	62%	2.5%	0.5	0.765	6.25
10	Sweden	21.0%	0.5	51.9	64%	13.1%	0.3	0.815	5.94

*Percentage of women who have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime.

**Percentage of women who agree that a husband/partner is justified in beating their wife/partner under certain circumstances.

The safest country for solo women travelers is Spain, with an overall safety score of 7.45 out of 10. Spain was amongst the top-scoring nations for four of the seven factors analyzed. Scoring 9.6% for its acceptance of violence against women and the laws it has in place to protect women from violence, scored 0.3 out of 1.

The second safest country on the list for women traveling alone is Norway, with an overall safety score of 7.41 out of 10. Scoring highly for the safety of women walking alone at night (83%), its female homicide rate (0.6 per 100,000 people), and a high gender gap index score (0.879 out of 1). Norway’s capital Oslo is known for being a very safe city with low crime rates.

The third safest destination for solo women travellers is the Netherlands, with an overall safety score of 7.14 out of 10. The country scores particularly high when it comes to its strong laws against domestic violence. It’s also generally a safe country for all genders, with low crime rates and a score of 73.8 out of 100 for its safety.

The UK ranked 14th on the list with an overall safety score of 5.49.

The top 5 least safest countries for solo women travellers 2023:

Rank	Country	Percentage of women who have experienced violence*	Female homicide victims (per 100,000 females)	Safety Index Score (out of 100)	Women who feel safe walking alone at night	Attitudes toward violence against women**	Laws on domestic violence (0 = best, 1 = worst)	Global Gender Gap Index score (out of 1)	Overall Safety Score /10
1	Colombia	30.0%	4.1	39.2	41%	12.3%	0.3	0.751	2.23
2	Mexico	24.0%	6.2	45.9	42%	31.8%	0.0	0.765	2.50
3	United States	26.0%	2.9	50.8	62%	13.9%	0.3

May we all strive to emulate her virtues and remember that true wealth lies in the depth of our character, the sincerity of our actions, and the impact we have on those around us.”

Stay riveted for our next gala event, The Brand Travel Daily Media Travel Excellence Awards that recognizes and celebrates the outstanding achievements of companies and individuals in the travel, airline, and hospitality industry. They are scheduled to take place in 11 October, 2024

For inquires, to attend or sponsor next awards, kindly email here: Gary@traveldailymedia.com

If you know of any female leaders or up and coming superstars in the Travel and Hospitality industry you would like to nominate, please visit our page and complete a nomination form!

The prestigious IWTA Awards 2024 Award Winners are listed below:

content studio box

…there are many ways you can work with us to advertise your company and connect to your customers. Our team can help you design and create an advertising campaign.

We can also organise a real life or digital event for you and find thought leader speakers as well as industry leaders, who could be your potential partners, to join the event. We also run some awards programmes which give you an opportunity to be recognized for your achievements during the year and you can join this as a participant or a sponsor.

Let us help you drive your business forward with a good partnership!

x Studio

Connect with your clients by working with our in-house brand studio, using our expertise and media reach to help you create and craft your message in video and podcast, native content and whitepapers, webinars and event formats

Features, Global, Tourism, Travel Agents