According to the Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection (BHTP) report released in late 2023, Canada will be ranked as the safest country in the world for travellers in 2023-2024.
BHTP said the overall ranking is “based on the average of all measures [BHTP’s] The State of Travel Insurance Research”, which “combines six sub-category scores as a basis” for ranking.
In addition, the BHTP said it balances its survey ratings with other indices and information, including the Global Peace Index and the State Department’s own travel safety ratings, and added that the BHTP “additionally [averages] GeoSure Global Scores of major cities in each country.”
Together, the BHTP uses these various measures to “calculate a weighted score that reflects each country’s overall security.”
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More: To read BHTP’s full 2023-2024 report, which includes information on changes to BHTP rankings over the past few years, caveats, and the history and methodology behind these rankings, click here.
Canada’s ranking is up five places from a year ago
Canada has risen from sixth place in the BHTP rankings last year to the top spot in this year’s ranking of the world’s safest places to visit.
According to the report, major reasons for Canada’s high ranking include “cool climate and low population density”, [which] Travel safely.”
In addition, each of the top 15 countries in BHTP’s rankings was given a dedicated section in this year’s report, including a section titled “What you need to pay attention to.”
For Canada, the section cited wildfires as a concern for travellers, stating “Forest fires in Canada have resulted in poor air quality in most major Canadian cities. This has made travel to Canada difficult for people with respiratory illnesses.”
Yet, a quote (from the Gap Year Travel Store) included in the report’s dedicated Canada section sums up travel safety across the country this way, “As travel destinations go it’s actually not much safer than Canada…violent crime is comparatively low and the incidence of gun-related crime is also low.”
Breakdown of Canadian rankings by sub-category
The BHTP report uses the following dimensions to produce an overall ranking of the safest countries to travel:
- Protection from violent crime
- Protection from terrorism
- Transportation Safety*
- Health measures (including disease)
- Safety for groups (women, black travelers, and LGBTQ+ travelers)
Notably, Canada ranked first in all sub-categories included in this year’s rankings. Click here to see the top 10 countries by each sub-category.
*The BHTP states that transport safety includes countries that either have well-developed road and transport systems (everywhere except Iceland) or have limited need for long distance travel (Iceland).
BHTP Ranking by Age and Income
The BHTP also notes that survey respondents for the 2023-2024 edition of these rankings “had varying perceptions of the safest countries in the world based on age and income.”
Still, in most cases, Canada remained in the top four safest countries to visit, according to these sub-groups.
Compared to the overall ranking, the following shows how Canada’s placement would have differed if the BHTP rankings were presented based on the answers of specific groups of respondents.
Millennials
Among millennials who participated in BHTP’s survey, Canada ranked fourth for overall travel safety, behind Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom (UK).
Generation Z
Among Generation Z members who participated in BHTP’s survey, Canada ranked first for overall travel safety.
Respondents with a household income over $200,000
Among BHTP survey respondents who fall into this household income category, Canada ranked second after Portugal for overall travel safety.
Respondents spend more than $25,000 per year on travel
Among BHTP survey respondents who fall into this travel spend category, Canada ranks sixth for overall travel safety, behind the Netherlands, Hungary, the UK, the Bahamas and Portugal.
“Mature” Survey Respondents
Although the report does not specify which age group of respondents are classified as “mature,” BHTP survey respondents who fall into this age group ranked Canada as the ninth safest country to visit overall. For this group of respondents, Canada ranked low:
- Iceland
- South Korea
- Sweden
- Japan
- Denmark
- Norway
- new zealand
- Ireland
Guardian
For parents who participated in BHTP’s survey, Canada ranked first for overall travel safety.
LGBTQ+ travelers
Uniquely, BHTP survey respondents who were members of the LGBTQ+ community were the only subset of respondents who completely left Canada out of the top 10 safest countries to travel to.
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