Are you a nervous traveller? Then you might want to consider a trip to Finland, the safest country on Earth according to the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Those countries shown in lighter colours on the map above rated highest for "safety and security" in the foundation's latest biennial Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, published last week; those in darker colours recorded the lowest scores.

The presence of the United Arab Emirates and Oman in the top five, and Qatar in the top 10, will no doubt surprise many given their location in the troubled Middle East. Rwanda, in ninth, ahead of countries such as Portugal and New Zealand, to name just two, will also raise eyebrows.

Oman (pictured) and the UAE were also among the five safest Credit: Cristian Andriana/Cristian Andriana

The world's 20 safest countries, according to the WEF

Finland - rating: 6.65 UAE - 6.6 Iceland - 6.57 Oman - 6.49 Hong Kong - 6.47 Singapore - 6.45 Norway - 6.41 Switzerland - 6.41 Rwanda - 6.39 Qatar - 6.33 Luxembourg - 6.32 Portugal - 6.32 New Zealand - 6.31 Austria - 6.28 Estonia - 6.26 Sweden - 6.22 Slovenia - 6.2 Spain - 6.16 Netherlands - 6.14 Morocco - 6.14

Equally remarkable is the UK's lowly position. It's down in 78th, below the likes of Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia and Nicaragua, among others.

Zimabwe: safer than Britain, reckons the WEF Credit: © Pascal Boegli / Alamy Stock Photo/Pascal Boegli / Alamy Stock Photo

15 countries that are safer than the UK, according to the WEF

Rwanda Qatar Morocco Bhutan Armenia Azerbaijan Jordan Tajikistan Mongolia The Gambia Kazakhstan Zimbabwe Saudi Arabia Nicaragua Malawi

The US fares even worse, lagging behind in 84th, just below Gabon, Algeria and Benin.

The rankings take into account "the costliness of common crime and violence as well as terrorism, and the extent to which police services can be relied upon to provide protection from crime," the report states.

Colombia propped up the table Credit: JOHN COLETTI

Bottom of its survey is Colombia, followed by Yemen, El Salvador and Pakistan. A handful of countries do not feature in the 2017 report, in which case we have taken their rating from 2015 to populate the map above, or else they are shown in grey if no rating has been given in either of the last two World Economic Forum reports.

Previously, Telegraph Travel has mapped those countries where the threat of a terror attack is highest, according to the Foreign Office:

We've also looked at where a natural disaster is most likely to strike, according to the United Nations University for Environment and Human Security: