180 countries ranked by safety, peace, freedom and LGBT+ equality
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
| 0 – 1 | The norm across Western Europe and East Asia — lethal violence is vanishingly rare. |
| 1 – 3 | Still better than the median country in the world. |
| 3 – 5 | Around the global average — low by world standards, but several times the European rate. |
| 5 – 10 | Violent crime is a visible part of daily life. |
| over 10 | The level the WHO regards as an epidemic of violence. |
Sources: WHO estimates of rates of homicides · UN victims of intentional homicide · UN SDG indicator 16.1.1
Global Peace Index — safety, conflict and militarisation on a 1–5 scale, lower is better. The GPI sorts countries into five "states of peace"; our bands follow the same shape.
| 1 – 1.5 | The most peaceful tier — Iceland leads the world at 1.1, with Japan, the Nordics and the Low Countries close behind. |
| 1.5 – 1.8 | Still very safe: Germany, Spain and Australia sit here. |
| 1.8 – 2.2 | The global middle — the median country scores almost exactly 2.0. Peaceful day to day, but with more crime, unrest or heavier militarisation. |
| 2.2 – 2.9 | Serious internal tension, as in Mexico, Colombia or Ethiopia. |
| over 2.9 | In or close to armed conflict — Haiti, Iran, Pakistan, and at the very bottom Russia and Ukraine near 3.4. |
Source: Global Peace Index 2025
Human Freedom Index — personal and economic freedom on a 0–10 scale, higher is better.
| 8 – 10 | The freest quarter of the world — Western and Northern Europe, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand and North America — where personal and economic life are broadly unrestricted. |
| 7 – 8 | Comfortably above the world average: free in daily life, with some weak spots. |
| 6 – 7 | Around the middle of the pack — the world median is 6.9. Freer than not, but with real restrictions. |
| 5 – 6 | Everyday life is noticeably constrained by censorship, weak rule of law or heavy state control. |
| under 5 | The world's most repressive states, such as China, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Syria. |
Source: Human Freedom Index 2025
Equaldex Equality Index — legal rights and public attitudes, rescaled from 0–100 to 0–10 to match the other columns, higher is better. Red is reserved for countries where homosexuality is a crime.
| 7 – 10 | The top tier — Iceland (9.3), Norway, Uruguay, Spain and New Zealand — where equal rights are law and daily life reflects it. |
| 5 – 7 | Better than the median country: solid legal protection with patchier attitudes. |
| 3 – 5 | Legal but second-class, with few protections and real social hostility. |
| under 3 | Legal on paper only, with open hostility in law and life, as in Russia or Jordan. |
| illegal | Different in kind, not degree: homosexuality is a crime, and the cell shows the penalty rather than a score — from prison (Illegal), through a life sentence (Life), to execution (Death) or death by stoning (Stoning). |
Sources: Equaldex Equality Index · Human Dignity Trust map of criminalisation · 2025 in LGBTQ rights