SINGAPORE: A study from Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection, a travel insurance company, ranked Japan as the safest country in Asia for travellers in 2026.
The Netherlands tops the study’s list, followed by Australia, Austria, Iceland, and Canada. There are only two countries in Asia in the top 15: the United Arab Emirates, ranked seventh, and Japan, ranked ninth.
In other words, Singapore, which is regularly found in the top spots of safest countries lists, is surprisingly not on the list at all.
However (and it’s a pretty big however), this is likely explained by the fact that the list, published late last year, is the result of a survey of “a large group of American travellers” who were asked where they’ve travelled in the last five years. The ratings given by the people who participated in the survey were augmented by data from the Global Peace Index, Numbeo, and GeoSure.
While there are many visitors to Singapore from the US, and the number of them grows each year, the nation is not one of the top countries of origin of tourists to the city-state, in large part due to the distance between the two.
It can take as much as 24 hours to get from the US to Singapore, and with most Americans having limited vacation time, it’s unsurprising that the Little Red Dot is not one many US citizens’ travel lists.
As further proof of proximity being a big reason for travel, in 2023, China, India, and Indonesia were the top three visitor source markets for Singapore. When combined, the three countries made up almost 40% of total international tourist arrivals.
Other studies say otherwise
Recent reports have made it evident that Singapore is among the safest countries around the world, and is arguably the safest in Asia.
Numbeo’s 2025 Crime Index said that with Singapore’s low crime rate, it is the safest country in Southeast Asia. The Gallup Global Safety Report 2025 ranked Singapore as the safest country for the 12th year in a row, with a whopping 98 per cent of residents saying last year they feel safe walking alone at night.
On last year’s Global Peace Index, which takes into consideration conflict, safety, and military aspects,
Singapore ranked sixth on the list and is the most peaceful country in Asia.
Moreover, in 2024, Forbes Advisor ranked Singapore as the safest city for tourists among all countries worldwide, as it had the highest safety rating, the lowest natural disaster risk, and the second-lowest health security risk. The study gave Singapore a perfect 0 out of 100 overall score across all the risk metrics, while runner-up Tokyo received a 10.72 and Toronto a 13.6. /TISG
Follow Google News
Join us on WhatsApp
Follow us on Telegram