The Most Dangerous Countries In The World In 2022

We have the list of the top most dangerous countries in the world, If you are a world traveler, surely on more than one occasion you have seen the horror faces of family or friends when you announce your next destination and they fear for your safety.

And although on many occasions fears are not justified and are based on prejudices and lack of information that as travelers we have the pleasure of combating, other times it is advisable to act carefully.

Wars, violence and crime are evils of the most violent countries in the world.

As a responsible traveler, it’s time to find out about this and avoid, at least in the short term, these destinations.

Once the situation improves, you can discover the wonders of these places, knowing that sustainable tourism is a very important means of helping their recovery.

How do we make this list?

We have made this list of the most dangerous countries in the world following the same parameters as our list of the safest countries in the world.

To do this, we cross the information from the International SOS Travel Risk Map with the data from the Global Peace Index and add the travel alerts from the main international organizations.

In this way, the information is more complete when considering criminal, health, and military risks and taking into account the opinion of governments from three different continents.

What are the most dangerous countries in the world?

After collecting the information, these are the most violent countries in the world:

10. Venezuela

Venezuela becomes the first country in Latin America to join a list that year after year had only African or Middle Eastern nations.

However, the situation that deteriorates year after year in the Bolivarian nation means that crime continues to increase and governments from three continents are already suggesting that their citizens avoid any trip through this country due to the risks to their security.

To this is added that the Global Peace Index placed Venezuela at the bottom of its table, as the only country in the Americas in red, which is helped not only by insecurity, but also by the repression exerted by the government of Nicolás Maduro to stay in I can.

Venezuela has one of the highest murder rates in the world and the British government warns that you can be robbed even in the supermarket queue, and that it is common for those walking through its national parks to be attacked at knifepoint.

They also warn that criminal gangs are organized to attack travelers arriving at the airport.

Venezuela has among its attractions the highest waterfall in the world, the Angel Falls, as well as the University of Caracas among its heritage, which is waiting for its situation to improve to be discovered.

9. Mali

For the third consecutive year, Mali remains in the ranking of the most dangerous countries in the world in 2021, a country that is divided into two regions.

The north has for years been a victim of the presence of terrorists, who even declared the area an independent state and established severe Islamic law.

The southern part has been more stable, but terrorist attacks in this area have increased, and although they usually target security forces, civilians are also a target.

The coup that the country suffered in 2020 was followed by another in 2021 and since then the country has been under the interim mandate of Assimi Goïta, whose transitional government will continue until March 2022.

As long as that happens, and although the capital, Bamako, is calmer, it is advisable to avoid a nation that has areas where the situation has deteriorated a lot.

Mali is one of the richest and oldest cultural countries in Africa, but its treasures, including the medieval city of Timbuktu, remain out of reach for travelers due to its place among the most insecure countries in the world.

8. Iraq

The 2003 invasion of Iraq will forever remain a crime.

This destabilized the country and has the ancient and glorious Mesopotamia as one of the most dangerous places in the world, also affecting much of the most valuable historical heritage that is preserved.

The situation in Iraq since 2019 can be considered unstable, although terrorist attacks are no longer an everyday issue, they are still possible, and anti-government protests often occur and take on a violent air. The main problem is that everything is unpredictable.

In the north of the country, attacks against Daesh positions continue to occur, so it is better to avoid the area.

Another warning to travelers is the poor condition of the Mosul dam, whose lack of maintenance threatens to overflow and flood the entire Tigris Valley.

There is only one region, Kurdistan with its capital in Erbil, which is considered less insecure, and which has been seeking independence for some time.

But despite being better than the rest of Iraq, it is not recommended to visit it if it is not due to force majeure.

It’s been more than a decade since travelers have missed the archaeological ruins of ancient Mesopotamia due to this situation, and among them is Babylon named a World Heritage Site in 2019.

7. Central African Republic

Another country that rarely makes the news and where instability has long been a daily occurrence, is also among the poorest places in the world.

Large areas of the country are controlled by armed groups, for whom kidnapping and robbery are a way of life, which constantly attack civilians, and homicide is even frequent.

Such is the situation in the country that the United States Department of Foreign Affairs suggests that you leave all your affairs in order in case you cannot return, and the United Kingdom warns that it is not in a position to evacuate you if something bad happens during your stay.

Although the country signed a peace agreement between the different rebel factions and elections were held in 2020, armed patrols and violent attacks are still common in Bangui and rebel activity with hostage-taking and violent attacks is still common outside the capital.

The Chutes de Boali waterfalls and the Dzanga-Sangha National Park, on the border with Cameroon, are among the places we miss while the nation remains among the most dangerous countries in the world.

6. South Sudan

The newest country in the world, far from being a success story is one of failure.

Independence from Sudan in 2011 as part of an effort to stop the genocide that the Arab population of this country carried out against the black population, South Sudan barely lasted a year in relative peace before an ethnic civil war began in 2013 whose formal peace was signed in February 2020

Although the UN supervises the peace process, South Sudan was unable to establish the transitional government it required in February 2020, and the election has already been postponed until 2023, until that process is successfully concluded, the insecurity situation will prevail.

Sporadic civil unrest continues, and the crime rate is sky-high, plus there is severe famine in the country. South Sudan is considered one of the worst places for humanitarian workers and the poor infrastructure poses risks beyond violence.

South Sudan has the largest animal migrations in the world and 14 parks where they could be enjoyed. Unfortunately, as the country does not know peace, there is still no opportunity to develop ecotourism in its territory.

5. Syria

Although Syria is still a country with serious security problems, the internal situation is improving and this year the nation is no longer at the top of the list.

It was once an example to follow in the Middle East, until a long dictatorship put an end to human rights and ended up being one of the biggest failures of the once exciting Arab Spring.

Contrary to other dictators Bashar Al-Assad managed to stay in power and although the Civil War decreased in intensity with two peace agreements with rebels in the north of the country, the conflict remains latent.

Al-Assad’s government has no control over the entire country, sporadic airstrikes continue to occur, and the power vacuum has allowed criminal groups to grow freely.

The humanitarian crisis has caused a very important wave of refugees, and the country has no functional infrastructure after more than 10 years of conflict.

In addition, Daesh is still active and they maintain insurgent attacks in the north of the country, and the conflict can leave any visitor isolated by suspending flights and closing the borders.

Clearly, traveling to a country at war is not a good idea, because at any moment you will be involved in an attack or bombing that can occur even in the safest places.

Palmyra, a wonderful Roman city that has a project to restore its splendor, is the main attraction that awaits travelers en route once it is possible to travel to Syria.

4. Yemen

Yemen was always one of the poorest countries in the Middle East, but this was compounded by insecurity when a civil war broke out in 2015 that continues to this day.

The conflict worsened as Saudi Arabia and Iran chose the location to vie for their place as a regional political power.

If Yemen appears higher in the ranking of more dangerous countries than other nations, it is because the war is at its peak, so fighting, bombing and attacks are an everyday thing.

Last year South Yemen declared its independence, taking this war to a new stage.

Clearly traveling to the country implies a struggle to survive, making tourism impossible.

If this were not enough, the country has one of the highest Covid-19 mortality rates in the world, and this is only considering the very limited data that the country can offer.

While Yemen is one of the most dangerous countries to travel to, the island of Socotra, considered the Galapagos of the Arab world, and the old city of Sana’a are the wonders we miss.

3. Afghanistan

If there is a country associated with terrorism and insecurity, this is Afghanistan, the oldest example of how a foreign invasion can only destabilize a country and plunge it into chaos.

Afghanistan was the country that had the most dramatic change in 2021, because after years of occupation, the United States withdrew from the country, abandoning the government that it had tried to promote and the citizens that trusted them.

The Taliban, one of the most retrogressive groups that exist, once again took control of the country, and dramatic scenes of thousands of people in airports trying to flee, and even falling from planes to which they tried to hang themselves, were a clear example of what I waited for this nation.

Afghanistan was already off limits for tourists, but although there has been no major violence so far, the presence of the Taliban makes it impossible to think of touring the country, especially for women, who have already been displaced from public life.

All foreign governments recommend avoiding the country, and some even recommend hiring private security to accompany you at all times.

The Babur Gardens and the Kabul Museum are two beautiful places that hope one day to see travelers in the country’s capital again.

2. Libya

The invasion of Iraq showed that a war is not the way to free a country from a dictator, but the United States did not understand and repeated the operation in Libya that fell into chaos after the lynching of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Since then the country has been divided into three irreconcilable areas without an effective central government and under the control of guerrillas and terrorist groups.

Acts of violence and fighting abound. Being the worst of all that everything can happen without prior notice.

If nothing happens on your stay, you are still at risk from the presence of mines, and the possibility of being trapped, as the Tripoli airport is closed and operations at other airfields are often interrupted by sudden violence.

Libya has some of the most beautiful Roman cities in the Mediterranean such as Leptis Magna, protected by a group of Libyan citizens seeking to prevent the destruction of their heritage in the midst of civil war.

1. Somalia

Somalia is the most dangerous country in the world in 2022.

The definition of a failed state, since the civil war that began in 1991 and lasted almost 20 years, the country does not have a stable government and is in fact divided into small micro-states without recognition. Feeble attempts to unify the country again have been unsuccessful.

The situation means that the country not only does not have basic services, but also that it is home to terrorist groups and criminal gangs, the best known of which are the pirate groups that attack the Indian Ocean.

On top of this, terrorists are constantly issuing threats against any Westerners in the country, so just being there is making yourself a target for kidnapping or murder.

The risk is relatively less in the Somaliland region, a de facto state in the north of the country whose independence has not been recognized despite nearly three decades of diplomatic efforts.

It is the only region in Somalia with a democratic government structure and elections, but even so in the capital of this place, Hargeisa, it is recommended to avoid public places.

Somalia has pending a presidential election since 2020 that the conflict does not yet allow to be held, it is tentatively scheduled for 2022 and an increase in violence is expected due to it.

The constant and long conflict has destroyed almost all the tourist attraction that the country could ever have, but the beauty of its once famous beaches will be waiting for Somalia to stop being an insecure country.

Read Also: The 10 Ugliest Cities In The World

As travelers, understanding between people is always a goal, so in addition to lamenting the cultural and natural heritage far from our reach, we also advocate for peace for all and hope that one day this list will be empty.

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