Exclusive | USAs surprising ranking on list of safest countries for solo female travelers

Women jet-setting alone this year should put Spain, Austria and Italy at the top of their bucket lists, a new study has found.The European countries, led by Spain with a top score of 89, were ranked safest for women traveling solo based on factors including homicide rates, safety at night, and attitudes toward violence against women, according to a survey conducted by Everly Life insurance.“Spain has prioritized women’s safety through comprehensive legislative protections and public safety initiatives,” explained life insurance expert Meredith Bell.“Their approach combines strong legal frameworks with cultural attitudes that generally respect women’s autonomy in public spaces,” Bell added.In fourth was Poland, followed by the UK, France and Germany, respectively.

Reliable public transportation, policing and surveillance, and well-lit, vibrant streets help make the countries havens for female tourists, Bell noted.Thailand, which has seen a tourism boom since hosting the third season of the HBO hit “White Lotus,” landed eighth on the list.Japan and Croatia rounded out the Top 10.The US was a shockingly low 19th — with a total score of 50.3, behind countries like India, Vietnam, Turkey and China — because of high crime and homicide rates.The study looked at domestic violence, female homicide, crime, feelings of insecurity at night, and perception of physical violence against women in the world’s most visited countries over the last five years.Based on the data, Syria, a country racked by civil war, was the worst place to visit.

Next was the central African country of Gabon, which saw high rates of violence against women, followed by Papua New Guinea, a country in the southwest Pacific that has the world’s second-highest crime rate, data shows.They were followed by other African countries — including South Africa and Uganda — as well as the south Pacific’s Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste in southeast Asia....