Nicaragua and Panama are safest

Nicaragua and Panama topped the list of Latin American and Caribbean countries in terms of personal security, according to the Gallup Law & Order Index, released this week.

Nicaragua and Panama were tied with 67 points out of 100, based on indicators such as crime reports, trust in police forces, and the sense of public security.

Both countries made significant advances compared to the previous study, conducted five years ago, with an increase of nine and seven points, respectively.

The most insecure place in Central America is Honduras, while Venezuela is last in a list of 21 countries (figures in parentheses represent position of each country of the region in the Latin American list).
 

1. Nicaragua (1)
2. Panama (2)
3. Costa Rica (8)
4. El Salvador (10)
5. Guatemala (13)
6. Honduras (15)