A global risk map has revealed which countries and cities are most dangerous to visit right now — with civil war-torn Burkina Faso and Central African Republic coming in first.
The map, based on risks of violence, social unrest, violent and petty crimes as well as climate change, shows these are followed by Lebanon, which continues to face attacks by Israel despite a recent ceasefire agreement.
Created by Safeture and Riskline, the Risk Map 2025 features 77 countries, including Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. All have seen their security situation deteriorate over the past year.
The three most dangerous cities for travellers, meanwhile, are Bangui in Central African Republic, Beirut in Lebanon, and Gaza City in the Gaza Strip, where thousands have been killed by the Israeli army.
Historically seen as an area of stability, the map reveals Europe is now experiencing increased risks.
The UK, France, Spain and Sweden have all been moved into the ‘moderate risk’ category, with Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland also seeing heightened risks.
‘Moderate risk’, however, is still the second safest category out of the five risk levels, which are low, moderate, medium, high and extreme.
According to the map, countries that have become safer and moved from a higher risk level to the ‘moderate’ list over the last year include Armenia, Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina, China, Morocco and Cuba.
The countries deemed ‘low risk’ for travellers include Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Finland, Iceland and Norway, and outside Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Japan.
The safest cities, meanwhile, are Bern in Switzerland, which comes out top, followed by Doha in Qatar, Melbourne in Australia, Montreal in Canada, Muscat in Oman and Ottawa, also in Canada.
One country that was previously on the lowest risk rate, but has been moved to ‘medium risk’, is popular honeymoon destination, the Maldives.
This is due to increasing political instability, an increase in social tensions and religious extremism and the consequences of climate change, such as flooding and coastal erosion.
Safeture and Riskline, who manage and analyse worldwide travel risks, also took medical care into account when analysing risks for travellers.
It found the health infrastructure is particularly poor in countries including: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Haiti, Myanmar, South Sudan, Sudan, Venezuela and Yemen.
Safeture said: ‘The medical facilities here are inadequate, and access to basic medicines and emergency care is severely restricted.
‘Diseases that would be easily treatable in other parts of the world can become a real threat here.’
This article was originally published on December 6.
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