London, June 12, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Commonwealth of Dominica has been crowned as the safest place in the Caribbean in the second annual World Citizenship Report published by the world's leading government advisory and marketing firm, CS Global Partners.
Using data from the World Citizenship Index (WCI), the World Citizenship Report’s data-driven tool which measures 188 countries across five motivators most relevant to the mass affluent, the Nature Isle topped the Safety and Security pillar in the region with a score of 76.9, bringing it to the 38th safest place in the international arena.
In the Caribbean, Grenada (46), St Kitts and Nevis (48), Saint Lucia (50) and Antigua and Barbuda (52) followed Dominica’s safety and security rank of 38. Iceland (1), New Zealand (2) and Switzerland (3) kept their top rankings globally for the second year in a row, while economic giants like the US (65) and China (111) trailed much further behind Dominica.
Dominica continues to place emphasis on physical safety, rule of law, and political stability and ranks high in categories like voice and accountability, where citizens feel empowered to hold leaders accountable to their demands and needs.
The post-pandemic return to ‘normal’ has been marred by generational inflation, broader macroeconomic volatility as well as the geopolitical instability stemming from the crisis in Ukraine – which has threatened to upend the ‘Long Peace’ enjoyed since the end of WWII.
The resultant supply chain, energy, and political pressures have pushed the global economy closer to a recession and are forcing governments to enact monetary and fiscal policy changes that are pressurising households the world over. Perhaps more importantly, the upheaval of the last two years that has engendered both restrictions on local and international movement and increased economic headwinds have compelled the world’s citizens to reappraise their relationship with their own governments with respect to freedom, safety, and opportunity.
The mass affluent and high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) are looking for alternative destinations as a bolt-hole for future crises in countries that offer the freedoms that are lacking in their home nations.
With many parts of the world also experiencing an uptick in violent crime due to ineffective policies and rising inequality, smaller jurisdictions in particular are increasingly prioritising efforts to ensure the rule of law for all as part of efforts to boost tourism and attract digital nomads. In the Caribbean for example, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) data shows that St Kitts and Nevis saw a 50 per cent reduction in its average crime statistics over the past five years resulting in it being ranked among the safest islands to visit in 2023 by well-known tourist guide “Travellers Worldwide”.
Caribbean nations that offer investment migration schemes such as Dominica, offer global citizens access to some of the best travel and economic markets in the world.
Dominica began welcoming foreign nationals to obtain citizenship in 1993. The island remains politically and economically stable, with a low crime rate and rich investment opportunities.
