Prague ranked among world's top cities for solo female travelers

Prague has been ranked among the world's top destinations for women travelling solo. The Czech capital comes in at sixteen in a new list of fifty cities compiled by Berlin-based travel agency Tourlane.

Cities in Central and Eastern Europe rated high on the list, with Slovene capital Ljubljana topping the list, Vilnius in Lithuania coming in third and Talinn, Estonia at number four. Singapore (2) and Sydney (5) rounded out the top five.

Two Czech neighbors ranked higher than Prague, with Vienna coming in at number six and Kraków at thirteen.

But the Czech capital ranked higher than many other popular destinations in Europe, including Amsterdam (25), Paris (26), Rome (27), and Berlin (33). New York City came in at 36, and London at 38.

The rankings are based on eight criteria, four of which includes data from the 2019 Women, Peace, and Security Index produced by Georgetown that evaluates the overall representation of women in society.

These include: a representation score, which represents the number of women over 25 who are employed; an equality score, based on levels of gender-based discrimination in society; a justice score that factors in laws pertaining to women; and a safety score, which denotes the percentage of women over 15 who feel safe walking home alone at night.

The other four criteria include more general travel concerns, including the average prices of accommodation in a hostel and for a taxi ride, the cost of mobile data, and the speed of mobile internet.

Among the first four categories, Prague ranked lowest for safety and highest for justice; among the latter, it ranked low in internet speed and high for mobile data plans.

Not all might agree that Prague is a safe destination for female travelers.

According to a recent survey, a third of female passengers on Prague's public transportation have reported experiencing indecent exposure, unwanted touching and kissing, sexual coercion, or even attempted rape.

The Czech Republic is only just now opening a help center for victims of sexual violence. According to a report from the European Network against Violence, the country is still missing critical services such as help centers and a crisis lines.