PH ranks as most unsafe country of 2021 based on Global Finance study

The Philippines has been ranked as the world’s most unsafe country of 2021 according to a list by the international business magazine Global Finance.

In the Global Finance World’s Safest Countries 2021, the Philippines ranked dead last at 134th out of 134 countries by having the lowest score. This is now the second time that the Philippines placed last in the list after the 2019 rankings which listed 128 countries.

The New York-based business publication evaluated 134 countries’ “safety scores” based on war and peace, personal security, and natural disaster risk including the “unique risk factors stemming from COVID-19.”

The study also analyzed 2020 reports and COVID-19 data retrieved on May 30, 2021, among others. The deaths per capita are used to measure a country’s overall response to the pandemic.

According to the global index, the Philippines is described as a country with a “serious civil conflict that has high risks from a natural disaster.”

“The Philippines, Nigeria, Yemen, and El Salvador all reported relatively low death tolls from COVID-19, yet performed poorly in terms of safety overall... While the fundamental factors rely on concise reports produced by NGOs and international organizations, the COVID-19 death tolls and the vaccination rates are largely based on self-reporting by governments," Global Finance said in an official statement.