The world’s safest and most dangerous travel destinations were published in the annual Global Risk Assessment Report.
New Zealand, Ireland, Denmark and Austria all made it into the top five safest countries on the list. In July, Iceland topped the Global Peace Index (GPI) list of the world’s safest countries to live and travel.
Other safest countries to visit are Germany, Poland, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Japan and Canada.
“Countries classified as low risk are considered very stable. These countries maintain a strong rule of law and are able to contain security threats,” says the Global Guardian.
The countries classified as “extremely dangerous” are: Ukraine, Pakistan, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Central African Republic and Burkina Faso.
Countries labeled as “extreme risk” mean they are actively involved in conflict and have high levels of criminal activity and civil unrest.
The report ranks Thailand, India, Turkey and the Philippines, as “moderate risk” due to crime and sporadic unrest.
Compiled by Global Guardian, a travel risk due diligence firm, the countries are marked on an interactive map that shows risk ratings and geopolitical conflict zones of countries around the world.
The map highlights areas of geopolitical tension and assesses the prospects of escalation and its potential impact, categorizing countries as extreme, high, medium, moderate and low.
It also flags some places of “geopolitical risk,” including cold, warm, or hot conflicts.
Popular holiday destination Mexico is also classified as “high risk” in popular tourist areas due to cartel violence.
This assessment also indicates that state institutions in these countries are not able to “handle militant groups or large-scale disasters”.
In its analysis of Ukraine, the Global Guardian team notes: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to a dramatic increase in energy costs amid already high global inflation.
“Russia’s control of much of Europe’s natural gas supply directly threatens Europe’s energy security.
“Ukraine and Russia account for a large portion of global food and metal exports, and further disruption to these supply chains will continue to have an adverse impact on food supplies and European manufacturing.”
On the other hand, the report identifies some countries as “low risk” and marks them as green on the interactive map.
The report describes the UK as “moderate risk”, meaning it is “resilient” and “capable of dealing quickly and effectively with most crises and threats to personal security”.
But it adds that “criminal activity, terrorism and natural disasters may affect travel or operations in the country.”
The index ranks the world’s nations 163rd in “peace” and analyzes data on their political stability, relations with neighboring countries, number of refugees, nuclear weapons, internal and external conflicts, military spending, incarceration rates and “crime perceptions”. among other factors.
