The Swiftest analyzed “seven different factors” for 50 of the top travel destinations globally, taking into account each nation’s infrastructure, safety, and social well-being. All variables were estimated using the frequency of specific adverse events per 100,000 people, data collected from government sources.
For example, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime provided the homicide rates, while the World Health Organization (WHO) provided the most recent statistics for traffic fatalities. The company created a grading scale from A+ to F to evaluate road safety, with A+ being the safest and F being the “deadliest.”
Five nations in total received a “F,” lead by one of America’s favorite Caribbean getaways:
- Dominican Republic – 64.6 per 100.000 inhabitants
- Saudi Arabia – 35.9
- Thailand – 32.2
- Vietnam – 30.6
- Malaysia – 22.5
The Dominican Republic (DR), which has the worst rate of traffic accidents per capita in the world, according to WHO, is the most dangerous place in the world to drive, by a margin of 28.7 points. According to the organization DR, fatal car crashes are the leading cause of mortality for people aged 15-29 and have surpassed rates in at least three underdeveloped African countries.
The average number of traffic-related deaths per year on DR is 3,000, higher than in Zimbabwe, Liberia, Eritrea, and even Venezuela, a Latin American partner country. Swiftest did not include these countries because their primary focus is on well-known tourist attractions. They are not listed here because their tourism figures are low or unavailable.
The list also includes Thailand, which is overrun with tourists, trendy Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, which ranks fourth for traffic-related deaths despite being one of the safest Southeast Asian countries (at least in terms of violence and petty crime), and South Africa, where the death rate is 22.2 per 100,000 people.