Public Preparedness Index: 62 countries ranked

Short answer. Sweden ranks first of the 62 countries in the Phaenyx Public Preparedness Index, with 92.5/100, ahead of Poland (92) and Slovenia (92). Malta ranks last (17/100). The index scores what each state publishes to prepare its residents, not the risks a country faces or how prepared people actually are.

What the index measures, and what it does not

The index counts what a government puts in the public domain for its residents: a phone alert system, sirens and their tests; a crisis guide, a campaign, a supply target and a kit list; public shelters, shelter rules and iodine tablets; drinking-water notices, a radon map, drought status and private-well advice; one emergency number, a civil-protection agency and other official lines.

It does not measure the hazards a country faces, the quality of its emergency services, or whether residents follow the advice. A high score means the information exists and is official, not that people are ready.

Ranking of 62 countries

Points by pillar; where a criterion does not apply, the pillar maximum is shown (for example 15/19). Select a country for the criterion-by-criterion detail.

Rank	Country	Score /100	Alert /25	Prepare /25	Protect /25	Water and environment /15	Reach help /10
1	Sweden	92.5	25	24.5	22	11	10
=2	Poland	92	22	25	22	13	10
=2	Slovenia	92	25	22	22	13	10
4	Finland	91.5	25	21.5	22	13	10
5	Denmark	90.5	25	21.5	19	15	10
6	Norway	87.5	25	24.5	19	11	8
=7	Japan	86	25	22	22	9	8
=7	Taiwan	86	25	25	22	8	6
=9	Lithuania	85	20	20	25	10	10
=9	Romania	85	20	22	22	11	10
=11	Germany	84	25	22	16	13	8
=11	Latvia	84	20	22	16/19	11	10
13	Switzerland	83.5	19	21.5	25	10	8
=14	Bulgaria	83	25	19	19	10	10
=14	Czech Republic	83	13	25	22	13	10
=14	France	83	25	22	11	15	10
17	Croatia	82.5	25	21.5	13	13	10
18	Netherlands	82	25	25	11	11	10
19	Estonia	81.5	20	24.5	15	12	10
20	Austria	78	25	22	8	13	10
=21	Luxembourg	75	25	25	6	11	8
=21	Slovakia	75	13	17	22	13	10
23	Canada	73	22	22	8	11	10
=24	Israel	72	20	19	17	8	8
=24	United States	72	19	17	11	15	10
26	United Kingdom	70	19	22	8	11	10
27	Singapore	68	19	19	17	5	8
28	Turkey	67.5	16	17.5	16	8	10
29	Belgium	67	20	22	6	9	10
30	Portugal	66	22	19	0	15	10
31	Greece	65.4	20	21.5	8/19	2	10
32	Australia	65	15	16	15	9	10
33	Kazakhstan	64.5	16	21.5	14	3	10
34	Spain	64	19	16	6	13	10
35	South Korea	62.5	22	17.5	9	6	8
=36	New Zealand	62	17	22	2	11	10
=36	Ukraine	62	12	14	20	6	10
=38	Iceland	60	17	22	3	8	10
=38	Kuwait	60	20	22	8	0	10
=40	Chile	58	22	22	0	6	8
=40	India	58	17	11	10	10	10
=40	Peru	58	22	21.5	0/19	3	8
43	Serbia	56	22	11	14	3	6
44	Italy	55.5	19	15.5	3	10	8
=45	Brazil	55	17	19	3	8	8
=45	Mexico	55	20	19	3	3	10
47	Ireland	53.2	1	22	2/19	15	10
48	Cyprus	52	12	17	13	0	10
49	Hungary	48.5	14	13.5	5	6	10
50	United Arab Emirates	48	20	14	5	1	8
51	Indonesia	47	14	22	0	3	8
52	Moldova	45.5	5	16.5	14	3	7
53	Malaysia	41.5	13	15.5	0	3	10
54	Thailand	41	19	8	3	3	8
55	Colombia	40	5	19	0	6	10
56	Argentina	38.5	4	18.5	3	5	8
57	Philippines	37.5	11	15.5	0	3	8
58	Costa Rica	36.5	8	17.5	0	3	8
59	South Africa	35	5	13	5	4	8
60	Georgia	29	1	14	4	0	10
61	Qatar	25	15	0	0	0	10
62	Malta	17	5	0	2	2	8

Scoring grid

20 criteria in 5 pillars, 100 points. Each level below is the rule applied to every country.

Alert · 25 points

Can the state warn everyone in time?

Criterion	Points	Levels	Source table
Alert on every phone in the area	12	12 = an official alert reaches every phone in the area without sign-up (cell broadcast or location-based SMS), nationwide. 6 = only an official app, a regional system, a system still in roll-out or testing, or SMS without stated targeting. 0 = nothing in service (planned, unconfirmed, or a legal duty with no confirmed operation). Weather-only and university apps do not count.	Emergency alerts on mobile phones: country by country
Outdoor sirens in service	5	5 = an outdoor siren network in service, with published signals. 2 = local sirens, sirens tied to one site or to coastal hazards, or a network still being rolled out. 0 = none, abandoned, unconfirmed, or a radio and TV signal only.	Emergency alerts on mobile phones: country by country
Public tests on announced dates	5	5 = a regular public test on a fixed date (sirens, phone alert or national drill). 2 = one-off, unscheduled, regional or local tests. 0 = none (commemorations, awareness days and suspended tests do not count).	Emergency alerts on mobile phones: country by country
Official air-pollution alerts	3	3 = official pollution alerts under a national scheme (even when regions issue them). 1 = an index is published (the European index included) with no confirmed alert, or alerts only from cities or one state. 0 = no index or alert confirmed.	Air quality indexes and pollution alerts: country by country

Prepare · 25 points

Does the state tell households what to do and what to keep?

Criterion	Points	Levels	Source table
National crisis guide	8	8 = a national guide confirmed by an official source as mailed or handed to every household. 5 = a complete national guide published in print or on the web, without confirmed household distribution. 2 = only partial national material (one checklist, leaflets, a guide for a single hazard) or regional material. 0 = nothing published.	Which countries send a crisis booklet to every household?
Official campaign or preparedness website	5	5 = a named national campaign (week, national drill, programme) or a national official website dedicated to preparedness; a national booklet mailed to every household also counts. 2 = a regional campaign or site only. 0 = none found.	Government emergency preparedness campaigns, country by country
Self-sufficiency target in figures	6	6 = a national duration (days or hours) and a quantity of water per person. 3 = only one of the two at national level, figures only from a region or city, or a duration for a single scenario. 0 = no figure.	How many days of supplies each country recommends
Official kit list	6	6 × the number of the 8 core items on the official list (drinking water, radio, torch, first-aid kit, spare batteries, medicines, cash, documents) ÷ 8, rounded to the nearest half point. No official list = 0.	What governments put on their emergency kit list: 60 official lists compared

Protect · 25 points

Is there official shelter and nuclear protection?

Criterion	Points	Levels	Source table
Official public shelters	8	8 = the state publishes a network of public protective shelters with a count or coverage. 4 = official public shelters without a national count, shelters provided for by law without a list, or shelters for a single hazard (cyclones). 0 = nothing, or only evacuation and temporary accommodation centres, which are not shelters.	Which countries have a shelter place for every resident?
Shelter duty or technical standards	6	6 = a national duty in force to build a shelter in new buildings that include housing (at least apartment blocks). 3 = an official technical standard without a general duty, or a limited duty (public buildings, designated zones, suspended or not yet in force). 0 = none.	Which countries require shelters in new buildings?
Iodine tablets: advance distribution	6	6 = preventive distribution in force (mailed, or free at pharmacies or town halls) to residents of the zones or to target groups. 3 = official stocks or an emergency hand-out plan, or partial or optional pre-distribution. 0 = nothing published. Not applicable when an official source establishes that no nuclear plant, at home or in a neighbouring planning zone, concerns the country.	Where potassium iodide is distributed for free
Iodine tablets: clear sale rule	2	2 = the sale status is stated clearly (without prescription, on prescription, pharmacy only, or banned). 0 = not stated, or only that no product is authorised.	Is potassium iodide sold over the counter? Country by country
Published rules for a private shelter	3	3 = the official procedure for building a shelter (permit, notification, thresholds, law) or a published technical standard is named. 0 = nothing, or only a reference to ordinary building rules.	Do you need a permit for a private shelter? Country by country

Water and environment · 15 points

Can residents check their water and their home?

Criterion	Points	Levels	Source table
Public drinking-water notices	5	5 = a national list or register of notices, or a national public search of results by network, area or municipality. 3 = notices issued locally by a named issuer covering the whole country, results only as open data, or a voluntary or incomplete national search. 0 = none, annual national reports only, or one city or region only.	Boil-water and do-not-drink notices: country by country
Official radon map	4	4 = an official national map or list (by municipality, grid, address or region; a preliminary national map counts). 2 = a regional or partial map, a map judged imprecise, or a national survey without a map. 0 = nothing, or only the European JRC atlas.	Radon maps and radon-prone areas: country by country
Published drought status	3	3 = a national public body publishes a drought status, index, warning or restrictions covering the whole country. 1 = one region only, a research centre only, data without a status, or municipal restrictions only. 0 = nothing, or European indicators only.	Drought warnings and water restrictions: country by country
Advice on testing private wells	3	3 = official national advice or a duty to test a private well (frequency or tests). 1 = a named body without testing advice, or advice limited to one region. 0 = not found.	Private wells and household water supplies: country by country

Reach help · 10 points

Is it simple to reach help and the authorities?

Criterion	Points	Levels	Source table
Single emergency number	4	4 = one number (112, 911, 999, 000, 111…) reaches every service, police included. 2 = numbers by service, or a single number that excludes police, is partial or mobile-only. 0 = none.	Emergency numbers and civil-protection agencies by country
National civil-protection agency	3	3 = at least one national civil-protection or preparedness agency or directorate is named. 0 = none.	Emergency numbers and civil-protection agencies by country
Other official lines	3	3 = at least two other official lines (poison centre, health, crisis, non-emergency, coastguard…). 1 = one. 0 = none listed.	Emergency numbers and civil-protection agencies by country

Method

Each point comes from one cell of the Phaenyx comparison tables, which cite the official source for each country (government, agency, official journal). The sentence that justifies each score is shown on the country page.

Score = points obtained on applicable criteria ÷ points available on those criteria × 100, rounded to one decimal. A criterion that does not apply (iodine tablets, where an official source establishes that no nuclear plant concerns the country) is left out and the score is scaled back to 100. Countries with the same score share a rank.

Where a cell allowed two readings, the lowest defensible level was kept. Nothing published counts as 0: it is a finding, not missing data.

All 62 countries had a second reading at the official source on 13 November 2026: for 25 countries (the top 10 and bottom 10 of the first coding, Hungary, Canada and the United States), every criterion scored 0 or marked uncertain; for the other 37, every criterion below its maximum or marked uncertain; 173 comparison cells were corrected or confirmed, each with its official source. Where the official source could not be read, the earlier level was kept: no point is ever given without an official source.

Updated 13 November 2026. The index is recomputed every quarter from the updated comparisons; each update keeps its date.

Download the data

The ranking and the 20 criteria for every country, under a CC BY 4.0 licence: cite “Phaenyx, Phaenyx Public Preparedness Index, updated 13 November 2026” with a link to this page.

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Frequently asked questions

Which country publishes the most to prepare its residents?

Sweden ranks first in the Phaenyx Public Preparedness Index with 92.5/100, ahead of Poland (92) and Slovenia (92).

Where does Canada rank?

Canada ranks 23rd of 62, with 73/100.

Where does the United States rank?

The United States ranks joint 24th of 62, with 72/100.

Does a high score mean a country is safe?

No. The index scores the official information published for residents, not the risks or how prepared the population actually is.