There are places where it is better not to be. Not only open wars, internal unrest or civil wars make life difficult for the population in many parts of the world. Terrorism, crime and political instability also have a direct impact on our peace.
We present the 30 countries where the greatest dangers prevail and where you should rather not go on vacation at the moment.
The most unsafe countries in the world
The most dangerous country in the world is currently Afghanistan, followed by Yemen and Syria. This was determined by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) at the University of Sydney in 2024. A total of 23 different criteria were evaluated, such as the number of wars fought, gang crime, the murder rate or violent crime. In addition, there are a number of other indicators that do not directly assess the existing violence in a country, but rather its probability. For example, the numbers of professional soldiers, police officers, imports and exports, and the number of heavy weapons are also included in the calculations. The result is the annual Global Peace Index (GPI). It is structured like a school grade and ranges from 1 to 6, with the lower the GPI, the more peaceful the country.
| Rank | Country/Region | GPI |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Afghanistan | 3.448 |
| 2 | Yemen | 3.350 |
| 3 | Syria | 3.294 |
| 4 | South Sudan | 3.221 |
| 5 | Congo (Dem. Republic) | 3.214 |
| 6 | Russia | 3.142 |
| 7 | Ukraine | 3.043 |
| 8 | Somalia | 3.036 |
| 9 | Sudan | 3.023 |
| 10 | Iraq | 3.006 |
| 11 | Mali | 2.963 |
| 12 | Central Africa | 2.934 |
| 13 | Ethiopia | 2.872 |
| 14 | Burkina Faso | 2.868 |
| 15 | North Korea | 2.848 |
| 16 | Iran | 2.800 |
| 17 | Pakistan | 2.745 |
| 18 | Myanmar | 2.741 |
| 19 | Nigeria | 2.713 |
| 20 | Israel | 2.706 |
| 21 | Chad | 2.699 |
| 22 | Venezuela | 2.693 |
| 23 | Colombia | 2.693 |
| 24 | Cameroon | 2.660 |
| 25 | Niger | 2.625 |
| 26 | Libya | 2.605 |
| 27 | Mexico | 2.599 |
| 28 | Lebanon | 2.581 |
| 29 | Palestine | 2.538 |
| 30 | Eritrea | 2.505 |
Regional hot spots
The geographical distribution of the countries listed is striking. Of the 30 countries, 14 are in Africa alone and 11 in Asia. In Europe, North and South America, there are hardly any countries where there is a significant threat.
Changes in violence
There have been some notable changes over the past 20 years. In particular, there has been a marked increase in the number and violence of terrorist attacks. There has also been a significant increase in the perception of crime, the number of displaced persons, or violent demonstrations. Conversely, the number of murders and armed service personnel has decreased significantly worldwide. The most noticeable decrease was felt in the need for UN peacekeepers sent in by the United Nations to secure the country.
Not every country on this list of most dangerous countries should be considered completely dangerous. It is a data-based evaluation that calculates a representative average per country. Even in Russia (6th place) or Mexico (27th place), there will always be regions where there is hardly any danger of terrorism and life is peaceful. Tourist areas in particular are often so isolated from the rest of the country that they are definitely considered safe. However, this is of course not the case in every country or every tourist area. Nevertheless, one should avoid remote areas and large cities.
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