How Safe Is South America? Countries Ranked From Safest to Riskiest
Argentina: Climbing to the Top of the Safety Rankings
Argentina claimed the position as South America’s safest country in 2025, ranking 46th globally on the Global Peace Index with a score of 1.86. This represents quite a turnaround for the nation, overtaking Uruguay after years of trailing behind. The country maintains a homicide rate of just 4.7 per 100,000, significantly lower than Brazil, Colombia, or Mexico. Let’s be real, when you think about Argentina, you probably picture economic chaos rather than safety. The economy continues its ongoing drama with inflation and currency struggles, yet somehow the security situation tells a different story. Crime is largely limited to opportunistic theft, particularly in areas like the Buenos Aires metro and parts of Rosario. Argentina enjoys a Level 1 travel advisory from the U.S. State Department as of mid-2025, which puts it in the same category as France or Japan.
Uruguay: The Longtime Peaceful Champion
Uruguay sat comfortably at 48th in the 2025 Global Peace Index, reflecting its long-standing reputation as Latin America’s Switzerland. In 2024, it was ranked the most peaceful country in South America and had the lowest homicide rate in the region at just 3.5 per 100,000. Honestly, Uruguay doesn’t get nearly the attention it deserves for maintaining such remarkable stability. Political stability, strict rule of law, and minimal violent crime have made Uruguay a model of peace for decades, and unlike other Latin nations, it has kept drug cartels largely at bay. Tourist hotspots like Punta del Este and Colonia del Sacramento remain exceptionally safe. Despite its safety, Uruguay earned a Level 2 travel ranking from the U.S. State Department, with robberies being a particular concern.
Chile: The Straight-A Achiever with Recent Challenges
According to the Global Peace Index 2024, Chile ranked second in South America for safety and 58th globally. Its homicide rate sits at 4.4 per 100,000, well below the Latin American average. The country stretches from the Atacama Desert to the icy fjords of Tierra del Fuego, offering travelers stunning geography backed by solid safety statistics. Chile ranks 64th globally but saw a significant drop in its safety ranking, falling 10 places, facing a growing security crisis driven by the rise in organized crime and increased use of firearms. Still, violent crime targeting tourists remains rare. Major cities like Santiago consistently rank lower on crime indexes than most urban centers in Latin America. Chile earned a Level 2 travel ranking from the U.S. State Department, largely due to occasional protests and demonstrations.
Paraguay and Peru: The Overlooked Safe Bets
Paraguay ranked 4th in South America for safety according to the Global Peace Index 2024. Under President Santiago Peña, whose security push drove homicides down to 6.2 per 100,000 in 2023, the country achieved one of the lowest rates in the region. Paraguay rarely makes travel lists, which helps keep it off the radar of mass tourism chaos. Paraguay is one of the least-visited countries in South America but also one of the safest, with a Level 1 travel advisory as of mid-2025. Peru occupies the fifth position among safer nations. Peru ranks 86th in the world in the 2024 Global Peace Index with an overall score of 2.091. Peru saw the largest improvement in peacefulness in the region and is now ranked among the 100 most peaceful countries for the first time since 2020, improving on eight indicators in 2024.
The Dangerous End: Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil
Venezuela tops the danger list with a crime index of 80.7 in 2025. The country held the sixth position for the highest homicide rate in Latin America, recording 26.8 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023. Here’s the thing: government data on Venezuelan crime remains highly questionable. Ecuador and Venezuela had the highest homicide rates in 2023 in South America; however, both countries saw violent crime drop overall in 2024 due to security crackdowns and gang reorganizations. The 2025 Global Peace Index ranked Ecuador as 129th worldwide, down from 79th in 2023 due to an increasing drug trade and gang violence. Colombia is the least safe country in South America according to the 2024 index. In 2025, Colombia ranked 140th on the Global Peace Index, while Venezuela ranked 139th and Brazil 130th, all facing higher violent crime rates and instability in certain regions. Brazil presents a complex picture where southern states remain relatively safe, but northern regions experience dangerous levels of violent crime.
What surprises most travelers is just how dramatically safety varies across this continent. Did you expect Argentina to top the safety rankings despite its economic turmoil?
