Pack your bags and look both ways before crossing: the Netherlands has been crowned the safest country in the world to travel to in 2026. Sorry, Iceland. (Not really.)
The title comes from the latest ranking by US travel insurer Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection (BHTP), which has been compiling lists of the world’s safest places since 2018.
Last year, the Netherlands shuffled in at 14th. This year? First place. Someone get the tompouce out.
Booting Iceland from the top
Last year’s winner, Iceland, lost its crown by less than one point and slipped to fourth place. Somewhere in Reykjavik, someone is demanding a recount.
Meanwhile, Australia held on to second, and newcomer Austria went straight in at third.
Here’s this year’s top 10:
- The Netherlands
- Australia
- Austria
- Iceland
- Canada
- New Zealand
- United Arab Emirates
- Switzerland
- Japan
- Ireland
As for the neighbours, Belgium came 11th and the UK 14th. Germany, seventh last year, didn’t make this year’s top 15 at all. Not that anyone here is gloating. Much.
So what makes the Netherlands so safe?
According to BHTP, the Netherlands is a peace-loving place, and the independent rankings it draws on back that up. The Netherlands came 17th out of 163 countries in the 2026 Global Peace Index.
And The Hague is currently among the 10 safest cities in the world on Numbeo’s safety index, with Eindhoven not far behind.
The American travellers surveyed by BHTP agreed. They gave the country near-top marks for health measures and overall safety, as well as safety for women, LGBTQIA+ travellers and travellers of colour.
The report also ranks countries on these individual safety categories, and the Netherlands collected quite a few medals:
- Safety for women, LGBTQIA+ travellers and travellers of colour: first place
- Safety from terrorism: second place, behind Australia
- Health measures: second, behind Australia again (fine, Australia, we see you)
- Transport safety: sixth, with Japan and its bullet trains taking the top spot
- Safety from violent crime: eighth, with Japan winning again (show-offs)
The real danger? Bicycles
Every country on the list comes with a “what to watch out for” warning. Australia’s is strict customs rules. Iceland’s is volcanoes.
But in The Netherlands? It’s bicycles.
READ MORE | 7 types of cyclists found when biking in the Netherlands
BHTP warns visitors that bike paths cross pedestrian walkways, so you’ll need to look both ways before crossing. Locals would add: then look again, and maybe once more for luck.
The report also flags young cyclists on speedy e-bikes. If you’ve ever heard the ominous hum of a fatbike coming up behind you, you know exactly what they mean.
Take it with a pinch of hagelslag
Before we all get too smug and start printing t-shirts, it’s worth knowing how the ranking works.
BHTP surveys American travellers about countries they’ve visited in the last five years. It then blends those ratings with data from the Global Peace Index, Numbeo and GeoSure, plus past results.
In other words, it’s partly a measure of how safe people feel when visiting, and those people are American tourists. BHTP itself points out that the results reflect a moment in time.
Still, first place is first place. We’ll take it, and we’ll keep looking both ways on the fietspad.
Do you feel safe living in the Netherlands, or have you had one too many near-misses with a fatbike? Tell us your story in the comments!
