According to an article by the Guardian, Cyprus is the safest of the 184 countries analyzed by the World Health Organization (WHO), with a death rate of almost one in every 4,762 youths aged between 15 and 29.
Cyprus topped the list with 21 deaths for every 100,000 youths, followed by Luxembourg which had 22, Spain with 25 and Denmark along with Malta with 26. The UK and Japan had 33 young deaths for every 100,000 youths while Greece had 45. Sierra Leone, Syria and Ivory Coast are the most dangerous for young people according to the figures which indicate 671, 579 and 574 young people die every 100,000 youths.
The most common cause of death in the figures was due to road accidents and according to WHO estimates, 350,000 young people died in 2015 as a result of traffic related injuries. Self-harm, interpersonal violence and drug use disorders were also among the leading causes of death among young people.
Globally, the mortality rate for young people decreased 21% between 2000 and 2015, with HIV-related deaths in particular falling significantly. Yet the gap between developing and developed countries has widened in that period, from 2.2 up to 2.4 times higher. In fact, 9 of the 10 most dangerous countries are in Africa according to WHO data, with Syria as the only non-African country featured among the 25 countries with the highest youth mortality rates.
