Safest Countries in Latin America Right Now

How We Rank the Safest Countries in Latin America

Our ranking sorts 21 countries by three official advisories in a fixed order: the US State Department’s level first, then whether the UK FCDO advises against travel to any part of the country, then Canada’s risk level. When two countries share a US level, the UK warnings decide which ranks higher, and Canada breaks any tie that remains. We pull all three from the US travel advisory list, the UK foreign travel advice pages and Canada’s travel advisories, and we rebuild the order every day.

The scope is Mexico, Central America, South America except Guyana and Suriname, plus Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Every country in that group appears in the table, from the top to the bottom.

The ranking measures what governments advise. It does not measure crime rates, homicide counts or how many visitors report a theft, and none of those figures feed into the order. Our methodology page sets out the full sorting rule.

The sort order has one practical effect you should understand before reading the table. Bolivia and the Dominican Republic receive the same US level and the same Canadian advice, yet Bolivia ranks lower because the UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of Bolivia. A single regional UK warning moves a country below every country that shares its US level and has no UK warning, even if you never planned to visit that region.

Argentina, El Salvador and Paraguay at the Top of the List

Argentina leads the ranking at the time of writing because it is the only country in the region where all three governments give their mildest advice. The US State Department advises travelers to exercise normal precaution and calls Argentina ‘generally a safe destination for travelers’. The UK FCDO advises against no areas, and Canada says to exercise normal security precautions.

A health note in the US summary concerns Andes virus (hantavirus), for which the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a Travelers’ Health Notice covering the region. The US summary says the risk for most travelers is extremely low. Our Argentina page carries the full three-government verdict.

El Salvador shares the US State Department’s mildest tier and has no UK areas advised against, but Canada asks travelers to exercise a high degree of caution, so the governments disagree here. The US advisory for El Salvador notes that gang activity has decreased. It also sets a rule for US government employees, who may travel throughout the country in daylight but are prohibited from traveling between cities or departments at night.

That staff rule rests on road conditions, hilly terrain, possible landslides in the rainy season and a general lack of streetlights. With Canada’s stricter advice in the mix, plan your trip around the high-caution reading.

Paraguay sits third with the same pattern as El Salvador: the US mildest tier, no UK areas advised against, and Canada’s high-caution advice.

Crime Warnings from Panama to the Dominican Republic

The next six countries all carry a US State Department warning to exercise increased caution because of crime, and the UK FCDO advises against no areas in any of them. Canada splits the group: it gives Panama and Uruguay its normal-precautions advice and asks for a high degree of caution in Belize, Chile, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

Panama’s US advisory adds a regional note. US government employees need special authorization to travel to the Mosquito Gulf and the Darién Region, where the US government has limited ability to offer emergency services to US citizens. If your route touches either area, treat that warning as the one that applies to you, whatever the national rank says.

The US advisory for Uruguay names four departments where crime is most common: Montevideo, Canelones, Maldonado and Rivera. It also says violent crime, including homicide, armed robbery, carjacking and theft, occurs across the country and has affected US citizens.

For Belize, the US summary says isolated violent crime can happen during the day and in tourist areas. The south side of Belize City has historically had the highest concentration, and the US links much of that violence to gangs.

Chile’s US advisory lists crime, unrest and health. Petty crime such as mugging, pickpocketing and theft is common. Large demonstrations may occur in Santiago and other cities with little or no notice.

The US advisory for Costa Rica says petty crime is common throughout the country and that violent crime, including armed robbery, homicide and sexual assault, also affects tourists. For the full three-government picture, see Is Costa Rica safe?.

In the Dominican Republic, the US summary says violent crime is a concern despite more police presence in areas tourists often visit. It advises travelers not to display wealth and to be wary of meeting people from online in secluded locations.

Country	What the US summary flags	UK FCDO	Canada
Argentina	Normal precaution; hantavirus notice, risk extremely low	No areas advised against	Exercise normal security precautions
El Salvador	Normal precaution; no night intercity travel for US staff	No areas advised against	Exercise a high degree of caution
Paraguay	Shares the mildest US tier	No areas advised against	Exercise a high degree of caution
Panama	Crime; Darién Region and Mosquito Gulf	No areas advised against	Exercise normal security precautions
Uruguay	Crime in Montevideo, Canelones, Maldonado, Rivera	No areas advised against	Exercise normal security precautions
Belize	Gang-linked violence; south side of Belize City	No areas advised against	Exercise a high degree of caution
Chile	Crime, unrest, health; Santiago demonstrations	No areas advised against	Exercise a high degree of caution
Costa Rica	Petty crime; violent crime affects tourists	No areas advised against	Exercise a high degree of caution
Dominican Republic	Violent crime; do not display wealth	No areas advised against	Exercise a high degree of caution

Mexico, Brazil, Peru and Cuba Rank Lower Than Travelers Expect

Several countries sit below Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic because the UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of them. Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru share the US level held by Panama and Costa Rica, and the UK warning is what pushes them down.

The US advisory for Mexico cites terrorism, crime and kidnapping, and lists homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, sexual assault and robbery among the violent crimes that take place there. It also says some areas carry increased risk. With the UK warning covering parts of the country, check which areas the warnings name for your trip.

Brazil’s US advisory names crime and kidnapping and says violent crime occurs in urban areas day and night. It warns that assaults involving sedatives or drugs placed in drinks are common, especially in Rio de Janeiro.

The US advisory for Ecuador lists crime, terrorism, unrest and kidnapping. It says US government employees are not allowed to travel to the Nueva Prosperina and Pascuales districts of Guayaquil or to any area south of Portete de Tarqui Avenue. The same rule covers Huaquillas and Arenillas in El Oro province, and Quevedo, Quinsaloma and Pueblo Viejo in Los Rios province.

Peru’s US advisory cites crime, unrest, kidnapping and terrorism. US government employees need special authorization to enter the Colombia-Peru border area in the Loreto Region and the Valley of the Apurímac, Ene and Mantaro Rivers (VRAEM).

Cuba is the sharpest split in the region. Read the UK and Canadian advisories before the US one, and use the stricter two as your guide. The ranked table above shows Cuba’s current place.

Honduras and Nicaragua show the opposite split: a stricter US level, but no UK areas advised against and Canada’s high-caution advice. Colombia and Guatemala carry that same stricter US level plus UK warnings for parts of each country. Venezuela and Haiti sit at the bottom, where Canada says to avoid all travel and the UK FCDO advises against all travel to the whole of Haiti and to parts of Venezuela.

Using the Ranking for a Trip to One Region

A national rank tells you less than the regional lines inside each advisory, so start from the place you are going and read the warnings that name it. A national rank hides warnings about a specific region, such as Panama’s Darién Region, Peru’s VRAEM or the named districts of Guayaquil.

Work through four checks for any country on your shortlist:

• Find the country in the ranked table above and note whether the UK FCDO advises against any part of it.
• Open that country’s US advisory and search it for your city, province or border crossing.
• Compare the three governments’ advice and plan around the strictest one for the area you are visiting.
• Look at the table again in the week before you fly, because the order is rebuilt every day.

Border Routes in Panama and Peru That the Ranking Does Not Cover

This ranking does not suit overland travelers crossing the Darién Region, the Colombia-Peru border in Loreto or the VRAEM, because the national rank of Panama or Peru hides warnings aimed at those exact areas. If that is your route, read the regional sections of the US, UK and Canadian advisories for each border and treat them as your verdict. It also does not suit anyone looking for crime figures, since the order carries none.

The order changes whenever a government changes its level or the areas it advises against. If the UK FCDO added a warning for part of Argentina, Argentina would drop below El Salvador and Paraguay the next morning. See our latest advisory changes page.

Caribbean and Side-by-Side Lists for Latin America Trips

Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti sit in this ranking, and, at the time of writing, their places here run from ninth down to last. For islands outside this list’s scope, see our safest Caribbean islands ranking.

When you are deciding between two countries, put them next to each other in our compare destinations tool. Panama and Costa Rica show why the detail counts: they share a US level and have no UK areas advised against, yet Canada gives Panama normal-precautions advice and Costa Rica high-caution advice.