Slovenia is one of the seven safest countries to travel to in 2019, according to a new interactive map showing the risk level around the world.

Slovenia is becoming increasingly popular among tourists, also owing to high level of security. (Image by Jure Korber and Tjasa Borsnak)

The 2019 Travel Risk Map, launched by global risk experts International SOS in collaboration with Control Risks, shows the danger level in each country and territory based on the current threat posed to travellers by political violence (including terrorism, insurgency, politically motivated unrest and war), social unrest (including sectarian, communal and ethnic violence) and violent and petty crime.

Also taken into consideration are factors such as the effectiveness of the security and emergency services, the robustness of the transport infrastructure, the state of industrial relations and the country’s susceptibility to natural disasters.

The map lists five categories of risk: insignificant (the lowest), low, medium, high and extreme (the highest).

The Travel Risk Map 2019 maps out security risks across the world. (International SOS and Control Risks)

Only a very few countries manage to make it into the ‘insignificant’ bracket; in Europe, only Slovenia, Luxembourg, Denmark, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Greenland are put in this category. The majority of European countries are deemed low risk, including Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand are all low risk too. Medium-level risks for tourists, for example, are associated with trips to Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, while visits to Mexico, Venezuela and DR Congo are highly risky. ‘Extreme’ risk countries are almost exclusively in Africa and the Middle East, including Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Mali, South Sudan and Somalia.

The majority of European countries are deemed low risk, but only Slovenia, Luxembourg, Denmark, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Greenland managed to make it into the ‘insignificant’ risk category. (International SOS and Control Risks)

‘Slovenia’s greatest single attribute is the Slovenes themselves: quietly conservative, deeply self-confident, remarkably broad-minded, especially tolerant and very, very hospitable,’ says Steve Fallon, the legendary founder of Maxwells. ‘So its ranking comes as no surprise.’ (Image by Luka Esenko)