The world's most dangerous country revealed in new global survey — and it's probably not where you think
As tensions rise around the world, picking summer travel destinations can be like navigating an international minefield. As a service to globetrotters, financial comparison site Hellosafe has ranked the most dangerous nations to travel, revealing that the Philippines is the most unsafe vacation nation on Earth for 2025.
They compiled this 'travel safety index' based on 35 different criteria that were boiled down into five categories: the frequency of natural disasters, societal violence, involvement in armed conflict (internal or external), health infrastructure and militarization, per the site.
Based on these indicators, nations were rated on a scale from 0 to 100 with 0 representing the safest and 100 being the most dangerous.
Hellosafe assured readers that 'this index is not intended to reflect the tourist attractiveness of a country, but rather a global index of security and safety based on the largest possible number of objective criteria.'
The Philippines ranked first on this dangerous nation decathlon with a score of 82.32 out of 100, which the index attributed to 'high levels of violence within society.'
In October 2024, 26-year-old American YouTuber Elliot Onil Eastman was abducted at gunpoint from a small island in the country's south by four masked men masquerading as police officers. He is currently presumed dead.
The nation is also home to Muslim rebel groups like the Abu Sayyaf group, a terrorist organization known for kidnapping foreigners for ransom.
Despite the alleged danger, the Philippines remains a popular destination for travelers with 5.4 million foreign travelers making their way to the idyllic Southeast Asian isles in 2024.
Coming in at No. 2 and 3, respectively, were Colombia (79.21) and Mexico (78.42), which both have high levels of crime and kidnapping, according to the US State Department.
In fact, they warn US tourists not to travel to certain areas, such as Michoacan and Sinaloa for this very reason
Rounding out the Top 5 list of most dangerous nations were India and Russia with respective scores of 77.86 and 75.65.
This comes amid heightened fears that war could break out between India and Pakistan following clashes in the disputed region of Kashmir last month.
Meanwhile, there appears to be no end in sight for the Russia-Ukraine war, which recently saw Putin launch one of his largest airstrikes on Kyiv since the conflict broke out in 2022.
Coincidentally, the US ranked as the 14th least safe country for travel with a score of 59.47 despite an overall downward trend in crime in major US cities.
Philippines (82.31)
Colombia (79.21)
Mexico (78.42)
India (77.86)
Russia (75.65)
Yemen (74.6)
Indonesia (72.94)
Somalia (70.8()
Mozambique (69.69)
Pakistan (68.03)
Fortunately, there are plenty of perfectly safe nations where people can decamp for the summer, most of which are concentrated in Europe, per the Index. Clocking in at No. 1 was Iceland (18.23), followed by Singapore (19.99), then Denmark (20.05).
Meanwhile, Austria (20.31) and Switzerland (20.51) rounded out the top five.
Iceland (18.23)
Singapore (19.99)
Denmark (20.05)
Austria (20.31)
Switzerland (20.51)
Czech Republic (21.19)
Slovenia (21.44)
Finland (21.81)
Ireland (22.49)
Hungary (22.87)
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The most obvious is the accent, but beyond that, there's a specific energy that's easy to spot.' ― Pons 'I somehow pick Americans out of a crowd, but I can't put my finger on how. It's something about how they're built and how they're dressed ― I really can't articulate it. They're just so essentially American that their Americanness shines, even in a culture where you'd think it would be harder to pick them out. Once upon a time, I think Americans just walked around with a certain air of confidence about them. They were proudly American, and you could tell in the way they walked. Nowadays, many conversations with Americans start with apologies. Their once-proud stance has been replaced with slightly hunched shoulders. Like they're aware that tolerance for American politics is wavering around the world and they don't want to take up too much space. But it's still something about how Americans walk in the world that makes them recognizable.' ― HuffPost.
