🇲🇹 Republic of Malta
Visiting: Safe
Few places are safer to visit than Malta. Two measures stand out: there is no conflict at all, ranking 1st, and road deaths are among the very fewest, at 4th. Freedom is well protected, placed 37th, which is its weakest measure but still inside the top third. LGBT rights are very strong, women's safety is good and violent crime is rare, with all three ranking between 6th and 33rd.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Malta: 0.9
Ranked 33rd in the world for the lowest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
Just under one killing per 100,000 people a year is only just inside the line that marks the safest countries.
Is it safe to visit?
Violence is rare, and a visitor is fine.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
Malta: 1.9
Ranked 4th in the world for the safest roads.
Why this rank?
Under two deaths per 100,000 people a year is under half the EU average of four and a half.
Is it safe to visit?
Safe.
Conflict — world number one
Conflict deaths inside the country in the last twelve months, as recorded by the Uppsala conflict database, civilians killed on purpose, and any UN sanctions or court order over a war. The worst of those sets the colour. Lower is better.
Malta: 1.00
Ranked 1st least conflict-affected country in the world.
Why this rank?
Nothing on record. The Uppsala conflict database has never recorded a conflict death in Malta since its records began in 1989.
Is it safe to visit?
Nothing to think about. Nothing in this category has touched it in eighty years.
Freedom
Six freedoms rated 0–4 by Freedom House — protest, speech, press, religion, movement and due process. The weakest rating sets the colour, and the total places the country inside it — higher is better.
Malta: 8.39
Ranked 37th freest country in the world.
Why this rank?
In Malta the lowest are speech, press and due process at 3. Total 21 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
Competitive elections and civil liberties generally respected, with four freedoms one step from the top. Official corruption is a serious problem and migrant workers are mistreated.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Malta: 8.0
Ranked 6th most equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
It has marriage, adoption, self-ID and the EU's first conversion-therapy ban, and has topped Europe's Rainbow Map for a decade. The law index scores 100, public opinion 61.
Is it safe to visit?
Fine. The transformation from Catholic conservatism to continental leader took fifteen years, and acceptance followed the law.
Women's Safety
Women's safety — feeling safe out at night, political violence against women, a fair hearing in court, and how normal violence at home is, with the night figure setting a floor on the colour — higher is better.
Malta: 8.40
Ranked 28th safest country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
Violence at home is rare and the courts rate high. Only 56 percent of women feel safe out alone at night, which is what holds the score.
Is it safe to visit?
A woman travelling alone is safe in Malta.