The World’s Top 17 Unsafe Destinations (And Yikes, 6 Are in the US!)
Travel makes our hearts race. It opens our eyes. Through the joint venture between Safeture and Riskline, people can explore their Risk Map 2025 to see country-level assessments regarding crime risks, political disturbances, disease outbreaks, and environmental risks.
American tourism providers currently experience reduced business operations. The original projection of 9 percent growth in global tourism arrivals for 2025 was reversed to indicate a 9.4 percent decline because of rising political friction, governmental border control, and tourist apprehension. The international tourism industry risks losing $9 billion and may not fully recover until 2029, primarily due to changes in visitor spending driven by political tensions and economic challenges. Although the sector is steadily rebounding from the pandemic, significant hurdles persist. Rising inflation, elevated travel costs, and ongoing geopolitical conflicts undermine consumer confidence, making recovery more uncertain. Hotel owners display frustration because many rooms are vacant and should have retained bookings for an adequate time.
Risk Map 2025 divides geographical areas into security risk classes rated from low to moderate, medium to high, and extreme, using crime statistics, healthcare services availability, and basic infrastructure durability. International SOS security director Sally Llewellyn speaks directly when she states that none of the company’s security rating scores decreased this year. Geopolitical tensions are the main factor that drives the increase. In other words, the map’s red zones keep spreading, and the “safe havens” feel smaller by the day. Here are the top 17 unsafe destinations:
Venezuela: The World’s Most Dangerous Country
Venezuela holds the last place in the global safety rankings for the year 2025. Numbeo ranks the crime rate of Venezuela as 81.2 points out of 100, which makes it the highest in the world for this year. The U.S. Department of State has slapped Venezuela with a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” warning, citing rampant homicide, armed robbery, kidnapping, and carjacking.
Ed Dramberger and other experts acknowledge that perceptions sometimes drive results away from facts. Yet, Venezuela’s actual statistics indicate a deteriorating situation because essential services are collapsing, inflation rises daily, and violent crime persists uncontrolled.
Extreme protective measures, consisting of armored transport with verified local guides and astute awareness of local circumstances, become mandatory for any traveler visiting this area.
Papua New Guinea: Tribal Violence and Unrest
Next up: Papua New Guinea. Surrounding Venezuela in Numbeo’s 2025 list is Papua New Guinea, which has a Crime Index of 79.7. Jungle treks in this island nation have the potential to transform into nightmares because of tribal conflicts, highway banditry, and sporadic kidnappings.
Official warnings may not fully reflect reality, even though actual conditions on the ground include substandard facilities, inadequate police presence, and language problems requiring proper acknowledgment.
Afghanistan: A Landlocked Conflict Zone
Travelers consider Afghanistan the third most dangerous country in 2025, with a 78.3 Crime Index score. On January 13th, 2025, the United States Department of State confirmed advisory status level 4, which reveals that visiting Afghanistan remains an expensive and risky proposition because of civil unrest, ongoing terror threats, and medical resource constraints.
Travel risk expert Jonas Brorson of Safeture notes that “the medical facilities here are inadequate, and access to basic medicines and emergency care is severely restricted,” underscoring the health dangers beyond violence.
Haiti: Gang Warfare and Political Chaos
The dangerous conditions in Haiti put it in fourth place on the realm of Numbeo with a total score of 77.9 due to widespread gang activity, together with abductions and deteriorating public services. According to the U.S. State Department, Americans must avoid all travel to Haiti because of continuous political turmoil combined with military factions controlling the entire residential area.
Edward Dramberger, a tourism and hospitality professor at the University of South Carolina, cautions, “Some people think the perceived risk is overstated,” but with Haiti’s humanitarian crisis deepening, perception and reality blur.
South Africa: High Crime Meets Wild Beauty
South Africa is ranked fifth on Numbeo’s list with a Crime Index rating of 75.4 and earned the title of most dangerous destination in Everly Life’s Travel Danger Score 2025 research with a high score of 76.
The crime statistics for this country reveal a dire situation, which combines 88.5 gender-based assaults per 100,000 people with 24.5 traffic fatalities per 100,000 and a poor healthcare index of 33.2.
Honduras: A Central American Hotspot
Honduras lands sixth with a Crime Index of 73.4 and a U.S. advisory to “Reconsider Travel” as of December 10, 2024, thanks to violent crime and gang activity. I once drove the infamous “Carretera del Norte” and felt every mile pulse with danger—roadside robberies, extortion checkpoints, and locals who gave me that “I warned you” look.
Trinidad and Tobago: Tropical Troubles
Numbeo ranks Trinidad and Tobago’s crime level at 70.8, placing it seventh on its danger rankings despite this country’s tourism attractions of steel drums, beaches, and Carnival celebrations.
According to U.S. government security warnings (Level 3), people should exercise caution because violent crimes, robberies, and sporadic political demonstrations remain on the rise.
Syria: War‑Torn and Warring
According to Numbeo, Syria has a Crime Index score of 69.1, yet civil war conditions and international intervention make the reality exceed numerical quantification. According to the State Department advisory (Level 4) issued March 3, 2025, travelers should avoid all travel to this destination. Safety becomes an imaginary concept because of active military zones, terrorist attacks, and abductions throughout the region.
Jamaica: Beauty Under Shadow
Jamaica’s reggae music fails to mask its ninth-place ranking worldwide under the Crime Index of 68.1. The U.S. Government urges travelers to think twice about their journey to Jamaica (Level 3) since violent crimes spike throughout Kingston’s inner districts.
Peru: More Than Machu Picchu
Peru’s Crime Index is 67.8, ranking tenth in the world risk scale. While the U.S. advises “Exercise Increased Caution” (Level 2) for most regions, remote areas like Puno and Madre de Dios carry higher risks of robbery and assault.
Nigeria: The Giant With Growing Pains
Nigeria checks in with a Crime Index of 66.2 —its highest in recent memory—and a Level 3 “Reconsider Travel” advisory due to kidnapping, terrorism, and intercommunal violence.
Memphis, Tennessee: America’s Crime Capital
Every 1000 residents of Memphis faces a violent crime risk of 24.37, which makes it the most dangerous city in the United States based on the violent crime rate. Through their tweet, the Memphis Police Department thanked the city residents for helping reduce crime levels and increase arrest statistics.
Your backing of law enforcement efforts reduced criminal activities in Memphis and boosted arrest numbers. We should continue our joint efforts to make 2025 the most secure year and change the narrative.
St. Louis, Missouri: Historic Crime Decline Amid Persistent Challenges
The violent crime rate in St. Louis is 14.70 incidents for every 1,000 persons. The city celebrates a milestone in 2025 because Mayor Tishaura O. Jones observed record-low crime statistics, which include a 45% decrease in homicides, 20% fewer robberies, 33% fewer burglaries, and 39% fewer automobile thefts since 2005.
Little Rock, Arkansas: A Small City with Big Problems
Little Rock’s national ranking for violent crime rate reaches 18.25 per 1,000 residents, making it the third most dangerous city in the United States.
According to NeighborhoodScout, “your chance of becoming a victim of one of these crimes in Little Rock is one in 55.”
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Crime on the Rise
The dangerous conditions in Minneapolis became known as the city has 12.45 violent crimes per 1,000 people, thereby earning the fourth spot on the U.S. danger scale.
The Council on Criminal Justice reported that Minneapolis and numerous other U.S. urban areas experienced a 4% decline in aggravated assaults during 2024, despite the time being marked by great turmoil.
Detroit, Michigan: Rust Belt Risks
Detroit clocks in at 20.59 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, fifth worst in the U.S. NeighborhoodScout reports Detroit experienced a significant decrease of 18.4% in homicides and a 33.5% decrease in carjackings between 2022 and 2023, which shows that specific preventive measures bring results.
Kansas City, Missouri: Midwestern Mayhem
Freedom For All Americans reports that Kansas City residents face 14.83 violent crimes annually, making it the last entry on the list of rankings. Mayor Quinton Lucas showcased his awareness of the city’s established violent atmosphere and emphasized that improvement needs to happen through his statement, “Change, however, can and must be made.”
Disclaimer – This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information. It is not intended to be professional advice.
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