180 countries ranked by safety, peace, freedom and LGBT+ equality
Visiting: RecommendedLGBT+ visiting: Recommended
Europe's youngest country runs on coffee and warmth — Pristina's café scene would embarrass cities five times its size, Prizren keeps a lovely Ottoman old town, and the Rugova canyon walls out the noise. The welcome for visitors is famously enthusiastic. Crime is modest, prices are low, and it's genuinely off the beaten path. LGBT+ acceptance is middling, so some discretion helps.
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Kosovo: 1.9
Ranked 62nd in the world for the lowest homicide rate.
1.89 homicides per 100,000 people in 2021 — a low rate by world standards.
Lower than 67% of the 230 countries and territories measured.
How peaceful the country is — lower is better.
Kosovo: 1.9
Ranked 80th most peaceful country in the world.
More peaceful than 61% of the 163 countries ranked, scoring 1.908.
Down 3 places since 2024.
Personal and economic freedom — higher is better.
Kosovo: 8.1
Ranked 37th freest country in the world.
The Human Freedom Index doesn't cover Kosovo, so this 8.05 is our own estimate — built with the index's published method: the same 12 categories of personal and economic freedom, equally weighted.
Day-to-day life (speech, movement, religion) scores 8.54; doing business and owning property, 7.38. Scored from the index's own underlying sources — V-Dem, Freedom House, UNODC, CPJ and World Bank data.
LGBT+ equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Kosovo: 4.8
Ranked 70th most equal in the world for LGBT+ people.
Better for LGBT+ equality than 62% of the 197 countries scored — 48 out of 100.
The law runs ahead of public opinion here — legal protections score 66 out of 100, everyday attitudes 30.