Safest countries according to the World Risk Index 2021

In 2021, Qatar was the safest country in the world according to the Global Risk Index. Malta was second safest with an index of 0.69. The Global Risk Index assesses the risk for disaster for 181 countries..

In the framework of the WorldRiskIndex, disaster risk is analyzed as a complex interplay of natural hazards and social, political and environmental factors. Unlike current approaches that focus strongly on the analysis of the various natural hazards, the WorldRiskIndex, in addition to exposure analysis, focuses on the vulnerability of the population, i.e. its susceptibility, its capacities to cope with and to adapt to future natural events as well as the consequences of climate change. Disaster risk is seen as a function of exposure and vulnerability. The national states are the frame of reference for the analysis. The index consists of indicators in four components: exposure to natural hazards such as earthquakes, storms, floods, droughts and sea level rise; susceptibility as a function of public infrastructure, nutrition and the general economic framework; coping capacities as a function of governance, medical services and economic security; and adaptive capacities to future natural events and climate change.