📈General travel

Most Developed Countries to Visit

By WanderTourScore EditorialPublished 1 March 2026Last updated 1 March 2026

The Human Development Index (HDI) from the UNDP measures a country's achievement in health, education, and standard of living. We ranked 25 countries by HDI to highlight destinations with especially strong infrastructure, healthcare, and quality-of-life indicators.

#	Country	HDI	🛡️ Safety	💰 Affordability
1	🇮🇸IcelandNorthern Europe	97	78	12
2	🇨🇭SwitzerlandWestern Europe	97	83	4
3	🇳🇴NorwayNorthern Europe	97	77	29
4	🇳🇱NetherlandsWestern Europe	96	78	35
5	🇩🇰DenmarkNorthern Europe	96	78	26
6	🇸🇪SwedenNorthern Europe	96	71	34
7	🇦🇺AustraliaAustralia and New Zealand	96	77	25
8	🇩🇪GermanyWestern Europe	96	74	38
9	🇬🇧United KingdomNorthern Europe	95	71	29
10	🇮🇪IrelandNorthern Europe	95	76	34
11	🇸🇬SingaporeSouth-Eastern Asia	95	91	53
12	🇧🇪BelgiumWestern Europe	95	73	38
13	🇫🇮FinlandNorthern Europe	95	77	32
14	🇭🇰Hong KongEastern Asia	95	81	42
15	🇰🇷South KoreaEastern Asia	94	79	54
16	🇳🇿New ZealandAustralia and New Zealand	94	74	26
17	🇱🇮LiechtensteinWestern Europe	94	38	—
18	🇺🇸United StatesNorth America	94	38	15
19	🇨🇦CanadaNorth America	94	67	30
20	🇦🇹AustriaCentral Europe	93	78	37
21	🇸🇮SloveniaCentral Europe	93	81	54
22	🇯🇵JapanEastern Asia	93	87	51
23	🇫🇷FranceWestern Europe	92	64	40
24	🇲🇹MaltaSouthern Europe	92	78	51
25	🇱🇺LuxembourgWestern Europe	92	64	26

Methodology

Rankings are computed from real-world open data sources including the Global Peace Index, World Bank (intentional homicides as a civilian-safety signal, WGI political stability, PPP-based price level affordability, protected areas, forest cover, international tourism receipts, and IUCN threatened species counts), US State Department travel advisory levels, UNDP (Human Development Index, Gender Development Index, Gender Inequality Index, and Planetary Pressures-adjusted HDI), ILGA-style legal protections plus TGEU/Transrespect anti-violence reporting for LGBTQ+ traveler scoring, Open-Meteo (climate normals), UNESCO (heritage sites and gastronomy-city recognitions), Wikidata (distinguished restaurant counts and winter-sports results), and OpenStreetMap (restaurant density, cuisine diversity, and luxury hotel counts). Countries with a Level 3+ US State Department travel advisory are excluded. Learn more about our methodology on the About page.

Data current as of May 2026 and may change. Rankings are generated algorithmically from publicly available datasets and are not a substitute for independent research. Do not rely solely on this information when making travel decisions. Always verify conditions with official government sources. Terms of Use · About our data