Croatia declared safest country, expert explains why: ‘It’s our mentality”

Dubrovnik

Croatia has been consistently ranked very high or even at the top of the list of the safest countries in the world. 

One such list was recently published by Numbeo, an online database on the cost of living and quality of life, which declared Croatia as the safest European country for walking the streets at night.

Croatia tops the list with a safety rate of 75.04. Slovenia follows at second place (74.33), and Iceland is third (71.75), which often holds the top spot on various lists of the safest countries. This list, where Croatia is the safest European country for nighttime strolls, is based on people’s perceptions as they shared their impressions.

While this criterion may be subjective and flawed, Croatia also fares well on other lists of the safest countries, considering various metrics.

For instance, in February 2019, according to a list compiled by the prestigious American business magazine Global Finance, Croatia ranked 22nd. Factors such as war and peace, personal safety, and the risk of natural disasters were taken into account. In November 2021, the International SOS And Control Risk rated Croatia as a country with low security risk. In January of last year, Numbeo also ranked countries by the level of safety, considering the crime rate. 

Safety walking alone during night in Europe (from more safe to less safe):

1. Croatia 🇭🇷
2. Slovenia 🇸🇮
3. Iceland 🇮🇸
4. Georgia 🇬🇪
5. Switzerland 🇨🇭
6. Czech Republic 🇨🇿
7. Denmark 🇩🇰
8. Estonia 🇪🇪
9. Finland 🇫🇮
10. Netherlands 🇳🇱
11. Montenegro 🇲🇪
12. Austria 🇦🇹…

— World of Statistics (@stats_feed) February 11, 2024

Qatar had the lowest rate then and was considered the safest country globally, with Croatia among the top 15 safest. Last summer, we were declared the safest country for solo tourist travel. 

In January of this year, the Institute for Economics and Peace, based in Sydney, Australia, placed Croatia in a high 14th place inits report created according to the Global Peace Index (GPI).

Security expert Željko Cvrtila told N1 that these positive ratings for Croatia on lists of safe countries are particularly important because Croatia is a tourist destination.

“Security is one of the key elements for tourism development. There’s no tourism where people feel unsafe, no matter how excellent the service, ambiance, and environment. No one will go on vacation where they have to worry about something bad happening to them and their family. From that perspective, security is a fundamental prerequisite for tourism,” Cvrtila told N1.

Even the fact that Croatia sees many illegal migrants passing through, according to him, doesn’t have significant repercussions for public safety.

“That is a kind of insecurity, but there haven’t been major incidents with illegal migrants here. The reason is that most of them don’t stay in Croatia, and we are not a recipient country. If we were, we would probably have similar problems—security, economic, sociological, and others that countries facing a large number of migrants experience. Then the problem arises with their integration, and the risk of insecurity grows,” emphasises Cvrtila, who says mentality plays a big part.

“I don’t think it’s some remnant of the past. I would rather say it’s about our mentality, that we’re not violent. Violent incidents rarely happen here. Just look at the violent protests across Europe. They burn half the city because the government wants to extend the retirement age by two years. Here, they extended it by seven years, and practically no one took to the streets, let alone engaged in violent protests,” says Cvrtila.

Hvar

Moreover, he says, totalitarian and repressive systems are known for security, citing North Korea as a virtually crime-free country.

“Security is greatest in such systems where everything is intertwined and embedded in a security system that not only deals with crime but delves much deeper into the rights and freedoms of citizens. Naturally, we’re not such a system. Our public security system is quite liberal,” he adds.

The perception of a city or country’s safety is often shaped by the amount of news in crime reports, which may not always reflect the actual crime rate. Cvrtila emphasises that there is a lot of media sensationalism that might lead someone to think that we are not as safe as global research claims.

Zagreb

“Recently, the police chased a driver in a car in Zagreb. I watched a report about it on TV. It lasted almost 10 minutes, and no one was hurt, nothing was burned, nothing exploded… The attraction was that ten police vehicles were chasing that one car, but in terms of security, nothing special happened,” Cvrtila concluded.