The safest countries in the world to visit in 2020

The holidays are here and for those planning a vacation and wondering which countries are the safest, a risk map published by experts in travel security may be of help.

In the annual Travel Risk Map for 2020 released by International SOS, the safest countries to travel to are concentrated more heavily in the northern hemisphere.

These are; Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Slovenia, Luxembourg and Switzerland.

The report is based on medical and travel security risks including infectious diseases and political violence.

The colour coordinated map has five categories, ranging from “insignificant” to “extreme” risk.

Among the countries deemed as most dangerous include Afghanistan, Central African Republic (CAR), Somalia and Syria.

Some countries did not fit into just one category and were therefore given a mixed rating.

Mexico and Colombia are examples of countries with mixed ratings with some regions in both countries being of medium risk, while others constitute a high risk.

A spokesperson for International SOS told CNN that the map is designed around its clients.

“Obviously it is overall reflective of location risks, but we do advise that consumers do as much research on their destinations as possible,” they said.

The UK, US, Canada, Australia, China and much of Europe was listed as low risk while much of Africa has been deemed medium and high risk.