The latest BBC Travel Report, has named Rwanda among the top five countries in the world that are safe for women who travel alone.
The report says safety of female solo travellers in the country is linked to its top performance in the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) global index.
The report also indicates that Rwanda leads in women’s employment and has no legal discrimination against women, factors which make it a favourable destination for female solo travellers.
The African country is ranked among other countries that include Slovenia, United Arab Emirates, Japan and Norway.
With the country’s parliament made up of 55 per cent women representatives, Rwanda ranks number one in the world for its gender equality in the National Assembly.
According to the Global Gender Gap index, the country also ranks highly in the index’s perception of community safety at position six globally.
The Global Gender Gap index measures how equitable a country is in terms of economics, education, healthcare and political participation.
Rebecca Hansen, one of the women interviewed and who travelled to Rwanda in 2019, said she was impressed by the security forces she met there and how they received people.
Security organs
“When you go to Rwanda, you will realise that there are police officers and soldiers in every corner of the country day and night, it’s scary at first but later you realise that all those in uniform are there for the good of the people and they offer help where required,” she said.
In January last year, Rwanda was named the safest country for solo travellers in Africa, and the sixth on the planet according to a review conducted by usebounce, a renowned and trusted travel website. It was the only African country to make it to the top 10 list, which is led by Switzerland.
Switzerland had a score of 21.7 for the crime index and 78.3 for the security index, followed by Slovenia with a crime index of 22.3 and a security index of 77.7 per cent, respectively.
Japan was the third and only Asian country to make it on the list, with a crime index of 22.4 and a security index of 77.7 per cent, respectively.
Other countries on the list of safest countries for solo travellers include Georgia, Iceland, Rwanda, Croatia, Czech Republic, Austria and Denmark.
“Rwanda has invested much effort in its national security by building competent and professional security organs,” read the survey.
A survey conducted by Norwegian Cruise Line revealed that one in three travellers preferred to travel alone. The research also showed that solo travellers increased to 18 per cent in 2022, from four per cent in 2019.
It also found out that those who like to travel alone are mostly women, but they face various challenges in the areas they visit including lack of security.
In the capital city Kigali, low levels of crime mean tourists don’t have to worry. In a 2018 Global Law and Order study by Gallup, 88 percent of Rwandans said they felt safe to walk alone at night, the same figure like in Finland, Slovenia and Tajikistan.
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