How We Calculate
Safety Scores
Full transparency on our data sources, weighting model, update frequency and limitations. Because trust is everything.
The WSI Safety Score — Summary
The World Safety Index (WSI) Score is a composite index rated from 0 to 100, where 100 is the safest possible. It is derived from verified, internationally recognised datasets published by the UN, World Bank, Transparency International, the Institute for Economics & Peace, and official government travel advisory bodies.
We are committed to 100% honesty and transparency. Where verified data exists, we use it. Where it does not, we say so clearly rather than generating synthetic estimates. Our scores are updated annually as new datasets are published — we do not fabricate historical trends or predictive scores as fact.
The WSI Score is designed for pre-trip research and general awareness. It is not a guarantee of safety and should be read alongside official government travel advisories.
Score Components & Weighting
The 10 components below combine to produce the overall WSI Score. Each category is independently normalised to a 0–100 scale before weighting is applied.
Crime & Personal Safety
25%Homicide rates (UNODC — live), violent crime statistics, petty theft prevalence, street crime risk, and police effectiveness ratings. Homicide is real data; non-homicide crime sub-scores are AI-estimated until UNODC theft data is integrated.
Political Stability & Terrorism
20%Government stability index (World Bank WGI — live), terrorism incident frequency, civil unrest levels, active conflict zones, and coup/political crisis probability. Terrorism score is AI-estimated.
Healthcare Quality
15%Hospital quality index, availability of emergency services, disease risk (WHO data — live), healthcare infrastructure. Hospital LOCATIONS are real (OpenStreetMap); the quality composite is AI-estimated.
Natural Disaster Risk
10%Earthquake frequency and magnitude data (USGS — live), flood risk zones, cyclone/hurricane exposure, tsunami risk, volcanic activity. Live disaster EVENTS are real; the country-level risk SCORE is AI-estimated.
Road Safety
10%Road fatality rates per 100,000 population (WHO Global Health Estimates — live, monthly sync via Our World in Data). Score = max(0, 100 − death_rate × 3). 184 countries with real data.
LGBTQ+ & Minority Safety
8%Legal status of same-sex relationships, hate crime data, social acceptance scores. Currently AI-estimated, cross-referenced with ILGA World data. Building toward ILGA Rainbow Index integration.
Solo Female Safety
7%Gender-based violence statistics, harassment prevalence, women's legal rights. Currently AI-estimated, cross-referenced with Georgetown Women, Peace & Security Index. Building toward live integration.
Corruption & Rule of Law
5%Corruption Perceptions Index (Transparency International — live, monthly sync via Our World in Data). 173 countries with real CPI scores. Rule of law from World Bank WGI (live, weekly).
Air & Environmental Quality
5%Population-weighted PM2.5 exposure (WHO + satellite data — live, monthly sync via Our World in Data). 186 countries with real air quality data. Score = max(0, 100 − PM2.5 × 2).
Traveller-Reported Intelligence
5%Community-submitted incident reports (Ground Truth Reports — live, real-time), real-time traveller feedback, and verified on-the-ground safety data. Weighted by recency and verification status.
Understanding the Rating Scale
Low risk across all categories. Standard precautions apply.
Mostly safe with some areas of caution. Research specific regions and neighbourhoods.
Elevated risk in several categories. Thorough preparation required. Non-essential travel discouraged.
Extreme risks. Most governments advise against all travel.
Live Data Sources (21)
These are the sources we actually pull from and update automatically. We do not claim to use sources we have not integrated. Every source below syncs on its own schedule — hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or annual.
UK FCDO Travel Advisories
✓ DailyLive government travel warnings, synced daily from gov.uk
travel_advisory
230 destinations
US State Dept Travel Advisories
✓ DailyLive US travel advisory levels (1-4) for all destinations, synced via official RSS feed
travel_advisory
200+ destinations
Canada GAC Travel Advisories
✓ DailyLive Government of Canada advice & advisories, synced via open data
travel_advisory
230 destinations
Australia DFAT Smartraveller
✓ DailyLive Australian Smartraveller advice levels, synced via public export API
travel_advisory
175+ destinations
World Bank Economic Data
✓ WeeklyReal GDP per capita & population for 184 countries (2024 vintage)
gdp_per_capita_usd, population
184 countries
World Bank Governance (WGI)
✓ WeeklyReal political stability, rule of law & government effectiveness scores — synced weekly via World Bank API
political_stability_score, rule_of_law
187 countries
Transparency International CPI
✓ MonthlyReal Corruption Perceptions Index scores — the gold-standard corruption ranking (2024 vintage)
corruption_score
173 countries
UNODC Homicide Data
✓ MonthlyReal intentional homicide rates per 100k — synced monthly via World Bank API
homicide_rate_per_100k
161 countries
WHO Health Data
✓ MonthlyHIV prevalence, life expectancy & doctor density for 181 countries
hiv_prevalence, healthcare_score inputs
181 countries
WHO Road Safety Deaths
✓ MonthlyReal road traffic death rates per 100k — 2021 vintage, synced monthly
road_safety_score
184 countries
WHO Air Quality (PM2.5)
✓ MonthlyReal population-weighted PM2.5 exposure — 2024 vintage, synced monthly
air_quality_score
186 countries
WHO / CDC Malaria Risk
✓ AnnualReal malaria risk classifications for all 187 countries
malaria_risk
187 countries
WHO / CDC Dengue & Yellow Fever
✓ AnnualReal dengue risk & yellow fever vaccination requirements for all 187 countries
dengue_risk, yellow_fever_required
187 countries
Reporters Without Borders
✓ MonthlyReal World Press Freedom Index scores — journalist safety & press freedom (2021 vintage)
journalist_safety_score
173 countries
USGS Earthquakes
✓ HourlyReal-time earthquake data (magnitude 4.5+) from the US Geological Survey
LiveDisasterEvent (earthquakes)
Global, magnitude 4.5+
NASA EONET
✓ HourlyLive natural events — storms, wildfires, volcanoes, floods — from NASA's Earth Observatory tracker
LiveDisasterEvent (wildfires, storms, volcanoes, floods)
Global natural events
GDELT News Events
✓ HourlyGlobal English-language disaster news from the GDELT 2.0 project
LiveDisasterEvent (news-derived)
Global English-language news
OpenStreetMap Hospitals
✓ HourlyReal hospital locations, phone numbers & emergency room status — synced hourly via Overpass API
Hospital entity
Global, growing
OpenStreetMap Police
✓ HourlyReal police station locations & contact info — synced hourly via Overpass API
PoliceStation entity
Global, growing
OpenStreetMap Embassies
✓ WeeklyReal Irish, UK, US & EU embassy locations, phone numbers & websites — synced weekly via Overpass API
Embassy entity
Irish, UK, US & EU embassies globally
Ground Truth Reports
✓ Real-timeOn-the-ground incident reports submitted by real travellers
GroundTruthReport, CommunityIncident
Traveller-submitted globally
AI-Estimated Scores (16)
These scores don't have a free, no-auth live data feed — yet. They're AI-estimated from model knowledge and cross-referenced with published research. We label them honestly. As we connect each real data source (see below), the matching score switches to live-data-backed.
LGBTQ+ Safety Score
Legal status, social acceptance & hate crime risk — AI-estimated from model knowledge, cross-referenced with ILGA World data
Solo Female Travel Score
Gender-based violence, harassment prevalence & women's legal rights — AI-estimated, cross-referenced with Georgetown Women, Peace & Security Index
Crime Score (composite)
Composite crime risk beyond homicide — AI-estimated. Homicide rate IS real (UNODC), but theft/robbery sub-scores are estimated
Terrorism Safety Score
Terrorism incident frequency & risk — AI-estimated, cross-referenced with Global Terrorism Database knowledge
Natural Disaster Score
Composite disaster exposure — AI-estimated. Live disaster EVENTS are real (USGS/EONET), the country-level risk score is estimated
Healthcare Score (composite)
Hospital quality & emergency care composite — AI-estimated. Hospital LOCATIONS are real (OSM), the quality rating is estimated
Food Safety Score
Food hygiene & contamination risk — AI-estimated from WHO food safety reports
Water Safety Score
Tap water safety & sanitation — AI-estimated from WHO/UNICEF JMP data knowledge
Cyber Security Score
Digital safety, internet freedom & cybercrime risk — AI-estimated
Child Safety Score
Child-specific safety risks — AI-estimated
Expat Safety Score
Foreigner-specific safety risks — AI-estimated
Business Travel Score
Corporate travel safety composite — AI-estimated from governance & infrastructure data
Medical Evacuation Score
Ease of medical evacuation — AI-estimated from hospital & airport infrastructure data
Civil Unrest Score
Protest & civil unrest risk — AI-estimated, partially informed by GDELT news feeds
Kidnap Risk Score
Kidnap & ransom risk — AI-estimated from security industry reports
Human Trafficking Score
Trafficking risk — AI-estimated from US State Dept TIP Reports
Actively Building Toward (6)
These sources will replace the AI-estimated scores above as we integrate them one at a time.
UNODC Theft & Robbery Data
Non-homicide crime rates per 100k — will replace the estimated theft/robbery sub-scores
ACLED Conflict Data
Civil unrest, protests & armed conflict — will replace the estimated civil_unrest_score
Global Peace Index
Country-level peace rankings (IEP) — will cross-validate our overall safety_score
Numbeo Crime Index
Crowdsourced crime & cost of living — will supplement our crime_score with city-level detail
ILGA World Rainbow Index
LGBTQ+ legal rights by country — will replace the estimated lgbtq_safety_score
Georgetown WPS Index
Women, Peace & Security Index — will replace the estimated solo_female_score
Update Frequency
Limitations & Important Notices
- → WSI Scores represent general country-level safety and may not reflect safety in specific cities, regions or neighbourhoods within a country.
- → Scores reflect conditions at the time of last update. Situations can change rapidly. Always check government travel advisories immediately before travel.
- → The WSI is not affiliated with any government, intelligence agency, insurance company, or the Global Peace Index (GPI) or similar named indices.
- → Data for some countries may be limited due to lack of reliable reporting infrastructure or authoritarian restrictions on data publication.
- → WSI Scores should not be used as the sole basis for travel decisions. Insurance, visa, and safety decisions should reference official government sources.
- → Community-reported data (10% weighting) is moderated but not independently verified for all entries.
Media, Press & Citation
Journalists, researchers and bloggers are welcome to cite the World Safety Index. Please use the following attribution: