Looking to move abroad but don’t know where yet? This might help shorten up your list.
The Institute for Economics and Peace (with headquarters in New York City, Sydney and Mexico) recently released their ninth edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI) report and its conclusions are not good. According to the IEP, the world is more dangerous now than it was 7 years ago.
The Global Peace Index ranked 162 countries according to 23 indicators that can be grouped into three categories: the level of safety and security in a society, the number of international and domestic conflicts, and the degree of militarization.
The most dangerous countries in the world: A snapshot
The report crowns Europe as the most peaceful region, having 15 of its countries within the top 20. Iceland, Denmark, and Austria are the most peaceful countries in the world, while middle-eastern countries Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan are catalogued as the most dangerous countries in the world.
Chile, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Argentina are the most peaceful countries in Latin America. More specifically, Costa Rica and Chile obtained better scores than countries like France, the United Kingdom, Italy and the Baltic countries (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia). These might be some interesting destinations to consider for your next move.
Scoring lower, but still within reasonable levels, are some of the most attractive destinations for expats in Asia. Countries like Malaysia, Laos, and South Korea outperformed countries like Greece and Serbia.
The four countries in Africa that experienced the biggest improvements in their safety levels are: Guinea-Bissau, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, and Benin.
See how dangerous your next destination is:
| # | Country | Score |
| 162 | Syria | 3.645 |
| 161 | Iraq | 3.444 |
| 160 | Afghanistan | 3.427 |
| 159 | South Sudan | 3.383 |
| 158 | Central African Republic | 3.332 |
| 157 | Somalia | 3.307 |
| 156 | Sudan | 3.295 |
| 155 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 3.085 |
| 154 | Pakistan | 3.049 |
| 153 | North Korea | 2.977 |
| 152 | Russia | 2.954 |
| 151 | Nigeria | 2.910 |
| 150 | Ukraine | 2.845 |
| 149 | Libya | 2.819 |
| 148 | Israel | 2.781 |
| 147 | Yemen | 2.751 |
| 146 | Colombia | 2.720 |
| 145 | Lebanon | 2.623 |
| 144 | Mexico | 2.530 |
| 143 | India | 2.504 |
| 142 | Venezuela | 2.493 |
| 141 | Philippines | 2.462 |
| 140 | Chad | 2.429 |
| 139 | Rwanda | 2.420 |
| 138 | Iran | 2.409 |
| 137 | Egypt | 2.382 |
| 136 | South Africa | 2.376 |
| 135 | Turkey | 2.363 |
| 134 | Cameroon | 2.349 |
| 133 | Kenya | 2.342 |
| 132 | Azerbaijan | 2.325 |
| 130 | Burundi | 2.323 |
| 130 | Myanmar | 2.323 |
| 129 | Niger | 2.320 |
| 128 | Mali | 2.310 |
| 127 | Eritrea | 2.309 |
| 126 | Thailand | 2.303 |
| 125 | Zimbabwe | 2.294 |
| 124 | China | 2.267 |
| 123 | El Salvador | 2.263 |
| 122 | Mauritania | 2.262 |
| 121 | Kyrgyz Republic | 2.249 |
| 120 | Guinea-Bissau | 2.235 |
| 119 | Ethiopia | 2.234 |
| 118 | Guatemala | 2.215 |
| 117 | Guinea | 2.214 |
| 116 | Honduras | 2.210 |
| 115 | Republic of the Congo | 2.196 |
| 114 | Sri Lanka | 2.188 |
| 113 | Uzbekistan | 2.187 |
| 111 | Cambodia | 2.179 |
| 111 | Uganda | 2.179 |
| 110 | Belarus | 2.173 |
| 109 | Jamaica | 2.153 |
| 108 | Tajikistan | 2.152 |
| 107 | Bahrain | 2.142 |
| 106 | Turkmenistan | 2.138 |
| 105 | Cote d’ Ivoire | 2.133 |
| 104 | Algeria | 2.131 |
| 103 | Brazil | 2.122 |
| 102 | Djibouti | 2.113 |
| 101 | Swaziland | 2.102 |
| 100 | Dominican Republic | 2.089 |
| 99 | The Gambia | 2.086 |
| 98 | Haiti | 2.074 |
| 97 | Trinidad and Tobago | 2.070 |
| 96 | Papua New Guinea | 2.064 |
| 95 | Saudi Arabia | 2.042 |
| 94 | United States of America | 2.038 |
| 92 | Guyana | 2.029 |
| 92 | Peru | 2.029 |
| 91 | Armenia | 2.028 |
| 90 | Bolivia | 2.025 |
| 89 | Paraguay | 2.023 |
| 88 | Angola | 2.020 |
| 87 | Kazakhstan | 2.008 |
| 86 | Morocco | 2.002 |
| 84 | Bangladesh | 1.997 |
| 84 | Ecuador | 1.997 |
| 83 | Burkina Faso | 1.994 |
| 82 | Cuba | 1.988 |
| 81 | Equatorial Guinea | 1.987 |
| 80 | Mozambique | 1.976 |
| 79 | Georgia | 1.973 |
| 78 | Liberia | 1.963 |
| 77 | Benin | 1.958 |
| 76 | Tunisia | 1.952 |
| 74 | Nicaragua | 1.947 |
| 74 | Oman | 1.947 |
| 71 | Jordan | 1.944 |
| 71 | Macedonia (FYR) | 1.944 |
| 71 | Togo | 1.944 |
| 70 | Moldova | 1.942 |
| 69 | Kosovo | 1.938 |
| 68 | Cyprus | 1.924 |
| 67 | Madagascar | 1.911 |
| 66 | Gabon | 1.904 |
| 64 | Panama | 1.903 |
| 64 | Tanzania | 1.903 |
| 63 | Lesotho | 1.891 |
| 62 | Nepal | 1.882 |
| 61 | Greece | 1.878 |
| 60 | Argentina | 1.865 |
| 59 | Sierra Leone | 1.864 |
| 58 | Timor-Leste | 1.860 |
| 57 | Montenegro | 1.854 |
| 56 | Vietnam | 1.848 |
| 55 | Zambia | 1.846 |
| 54 | Ghana | 1.840 |
| 53 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1.839 |
| 52 | Albania | 1.821 |
| 51 | Malawi | 1.814 |
| 49 | United Arab Emirates | 1.805 |
| 49 | Senegal | 1.805 |
| 48 | Namibia | 1.784 |
| 46 | Indonesia | 1.768 |
| 46 | Serbia | 1.768 |
| 45 | France | 1.742 |
| 44 | Uruguay | 1.721 |
| 43 | Mongolia | 1.706 |
| 42 | South Korea | 1.701 |
| 41 | Laos | 1.700 |
| 40 | Latvia | 1.695 |
| 39 | United Kingdom | 1.685 |
| 38 | Estonia | 1.677 |
| 37 | Lithuania | 1.674 |
| 36 | Italy | 1.669 |
| 35 | Taiwan | 1.657 |
| 34 | Costa Rica | 1.654 |
| 33 | Kuwait | 1.626 |
| 32 | Bulgaria | 1.607 |
| 31 | Botswana | 1.597 |
| 30 | Qatar | 1.568 |
| 29 | Chile | 1.563 |
| 28 | Malaysia | 1.561 |
| 27 | Croatia | 1.550 |
| 26 | Romania | 1.542 |
| 25 | Mauritius | 1.503 |
| 24 | Singapore | 1.490 |
| 23 | Slovakia | 1.478 |
| 22 | Hungary | 1.463 |
| 21 | Spain | 1.451 |
| 20 | Netherlands | 1.432 |
| 19 | Poland | 1.430 |
| 18 | Bhutan | 1.416 |
| 17 | Norway | 1.393 |
| 16 | Germany | 1.379 |
| 15 | Slovenia | 1.378 |
| 14 | Belgium | 1.368 |
| 13 | Sweden | 1.360 |
| 12 | Ireland | 1.354 |
| 11 | Portugal | 1.344 |
| 10 | Czech Republic | 1.341 |
| 9 | Australia | 1.329 |
| 8 | Japan | 1.322 |
| 7 | Canada | 1.287 |
| 6 | Finland | 1.277 |
| 5 | Switzerland | 1.275 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 1.221 |
| 3 | Austria | 1.198 |
| 2 | Denmark | 1.150 |
| 1 | Iceland | 1.148 |
You can download the full report in PDF here. Safe travels!