10 most dangerous places in the world to visit
The world has been beset with strife since its creation, and violence has remained on earth for virtually all the millenniums. With violence occurring, some places are considered a no go area for human beings and are subsequently deemed the most dangerous places in the world to visit. Inhabitants of such areas are encouraged or even forced to flee their homes for their safety, while visitors are advised not to embark on a journey to such places or do so at their own risk.
According to the Global Peace Index (GPI), produced by the Institute for Peace and Economics (IPE), some countries are deemed the most dangerous places to visit in the world due to the following: high crime rates, terrorist acts, violent demonstrations, unstable political climate, human rights violation and the high number of displaced citizens.
The 2021 GPI assessed 163 countries, with position one indicating the most peaceful country and position 163 indicating the least peaceful country. The major criteria employed to rank the countries, according to the index, were:
- The level of societal safety and security.
- The extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict.
- The degree of militarisation.
Most dangerous places in the world
Therefore, utilising the GPI rankings, below are the 10 most dangerous places and/or countries to visit in the world.
Russia
GPI Ranking: 154
Description: Very low peaceful country
Russia begins our ranking as one of the most dangerous places to visit in the world. Being effectively a one-man governed state since 2007, the country has continually exhibited signs of an authoritarian state:
- Arbitrary arrest
- Prolonged detention
- Mandatory tailoring to the state’s political view
- Censorship of the media
- A weak justice system
In the last two years, several protest organisers have been placed under house arrest for allegedly violating public health measures and allegedly spreading false information related to COVID-19. Also, being caught up in a political demonstration or speaking against the government is equivalent to spending the next few weeks, months, or even years in prison, as presently witnessed with her quelling of opposition to its invasion of Ukraine.
The human rights record of the Eastern European country has been increasingly criticised by leading democracy and human rights bodies. There have been reports of draconian arrests and mysterious murders of prominent persons, political dissidents, journalists, and even ordinary citizens. So, while the country might not be mired in a conflict, its overzealous police could make life difficult for its citizens and foreigners.
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The Central Africa Republic
GPI Ranking: 155
Description: Very low peaceful country
The Central African Republic has been plagued by violence, political instability, and coup d’états since its independence from France in 1960. After years of interregnum following military leadership, democracy was fully ushered in for the first time after independence in 2003, only to be thwarted by the civil war that began in 2003 due to political differences.
Since then, the country has been in a state of war, with the Central African Republic Bush War starting in 2004 between the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR) rebels and its allies against government forces. Despite the signing of a peace treaty in 2007 and 2012, respectively, violence has persisted in the country. The main civil resumed in 2012, and it has remained unending to date, causing the deaths of thousands of persons and the displacement of hundreds of thousands from their homes.
In terms of human rights records, the country is deemed to be poor in its ratings as there have been documented reports of widespread and increasing abuses by various participating armed groups and government forces, such as arbitrary imprisonment, torture, and restrictions on freedom of the press and freedom of movement.
Libya
GPI Ranking: 156
Description: Very low peaceful country
Libya has virtually known no peace since the overthrow of the government and the death of its former leader, Muammar Gaddafi during the Arab Spring in 2011. This country is still suffering from strong civil unrest and political instability.
Following the death of Gaddafi, the Libyan Civil War began. The insurgency by the former president’s loyalists went a scale higher as they battled the rebels and the newly constituted government forces, which had earlier defeated them. Battles between local militias and tribes have instigated turbulence in political leadership, with several government factions being formed and claiming authority to rule.
Despite the United Nations backing one faction, peace has not been restored to the North African country. Issues concerning arms proliferation and the increasing presence of terrorists have escalated the security situation to an all-time low. Even Tripoli, the country’s beloved capital, is not spared from the violence. It is no surprise then that Libya is one of the countries with the largest deterioration in the GPI ranking from 2009 to 2019.
The Democratic Republic of Congo
GPI Ranking: 157
Description: Very low peaceful country
Still fondly referred to as Zaire, its pre-independence name, the Democratic Republic of Congo is the second-largest country in Africa. Sadly, this country has seen an uptick in violence in decades. The DRC descended into a civil war in 1996 and has remained in hostility ever since.
Ethnic tensions have simmered for a long time in the country, especially between the ethnic groups of North Kivu against the Tutsi and Hutu, some of whom immigrated from neighbouring Rwanda. Even though the civil war officially ended in 2003, the conflict in the DRC’s eastern region of Kivu has largely been ongoing since 2004. Government forces have been in battle against the predominantly Hutu-led Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) rebels and the M23 rebellion.
Aside from the armed conflict and militia group conflict, there are also issues of civil unrest, terrorism, kidnapping, and violent demonstrations that have permeated throughout the North Kivu region and the Kasai, Kasai-Oriental, Kasai-Central provinces. Also, armed robbery, armed home invasion, and assault are common phenomena in the country.
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Somalia
GPI Ranking: 158
Description: Very low peaceful country
Somalia has been in a state of perpetual violence since its civil war began in 1991. According to the 2021 GPI, Somalia has had more than 20 percent of its population displaced due to the widespread violence across the country. Decades of civil hostilities have virtually destroyed Somalia’s economy and infrastructure.
The violence has led to the lack of a stable government for years and political instability, as the citizens have been unable to elect their leaders through elections, and the political leadership continuously toppled. This has forced the country to be split into areas under the rule of various entities. For example, Somaliland declared secession and declared the Republic of Somaliland in 1991. Also, the autonomous region of Puntland (the Puntland State of Somalia) self-proclaimed itself as a state in 1998.
The majority of the violence in the country since the 2000s has been perpetrated by the terrorist group Al Shabaab. The terrorist group had seized key towns and ports and was only pushed back by a combination of Ethiopian troops and the African Union peacekeeping force. Although Al Shabaab has retreated from the major cities, the group still large parts of the rural areas. It, however, still makes its presence known in Mogadishu, the country’s capital, and other key cities through sporadic attacks, particularly targeting western-modelled hotels, mosques, travellers, and transportation hubs.
Iraq
GPI Ranking: 159
Description: Very low peaceful country
Since 2003, Iraq, popularly known as the “Cradle of Civilisation” due to the many valuable inventions and discoveries unearthed there during ancient times, has been plagued by political stability and conflicts. Inter-ethnic violence between Sunnis and Shias has been a constant for years. Internal conflict has also been widespread following the proliferation of armed militia groups.
Crime and violence have increased exponentially following the withdrawal of US troops, who helped train the Iraqi military. Insurgency became the norm for years and was exacerbated with the rise of the Islamic State terrorist group. Although ISIS has been largely defeated, it still retains the potential to launch sporadic attacks and bombings, particularly suicide bombings, in various places across the country, including the capital, Baghdad.
Political instability has also affected the country, as there has been a high turnout rate in its political leadership. Demonstrations by citizens tend to be violent and could also become targets for insurgents to attack.
South Sudan
GPI Ranking: 160
Description: Very low peaceful country
Even though it is the world’s youngest country, having gained independence in 2011, South Sudan has been bedevilled by violence. Its leaders engaged in an armed conflict to secure independence, but after the feat was achieved, the country has continually experienced ethnic violence and a civil war primarily due to political differences between her top political leaders. It has suffered exceptionally high costs of armed conflict, as the level of arms proliferation and the number of persons killed from the ensuing crisis has been astronomical.
Despite numerous ceasefire agreements between the parties involved, the violence has continued. About 400,000 people were estimated to have been killed in the war by April 2018, including notable atrocities such as the 2014 Bentiu massacre. There have also been conflicts among nomadic groups over the issue of cattle and grazing land and clashes between the Nuers and Dinkas for the control of power. Over 35 per cent of its population has been displaced due to the violence, according to the 2021 GPI.
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Syria
GPI Ranking: 161
Description: Very low peaceful country
Syria has been engulfed in a civil war since March 2011 after attempts to replicate the Arab Spring by protesters to chase out President Bashar al-Assad turned into a protracted battle. Following this crisis, the country has been on facing heightened insecurity, with Damascus, her capital city, being the only relatively safe area in the country.
As a result of the war, several self-proclaimed political entities on Syrian territory have been made, with these territories governed by various armed militia factions. These armed militia groups have often battled against each other violently for control, as well as against government forces, the Syrian Arab Armed Forces. The situation has gotten worse with the emergence of the Islamic State terrorist group. ISIS-controlled large swathes of the country in 2014 and 2015 and was only degraded following an international military coalition, surrendering its last major position in Syria in 2019. However, ISIS and other militant groups have continuously carried out attacks in the rural areas of Syria.
But it is not the conflict among the militia groups that is a cause for concern. The Syrian government has been accused of human rights abuses, including frequent executions of citizens and political prisoners. Arbitrary arrest and detention of democracy and human rights activists, torture, disappearances, and use of chemical weapons are widespread. The military uses the excuse of the war as its defence to maintain security and conduct all manner of operations. According to the 2021 GPI, almost 80 percent of the entire population have been either internally displaced or are now refugees due to the war.
The government also grants clemency to people found to have done “Honour killings” – the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honour of themselves or their family.
Yemen
GPI Ranking: 162
Description: Very low peaceful country
It is estimated that nearly 13 percent of the country’s population are either been refugees or internally displaced since 2014. This can be attributed to the internal conflict that has been ongoing since 2014 between the Houthi rebels, who occupy most of the northern provinces, as well as the capital, Sana’a, and the Saudi-led coalition and the internationally recognised government.
Nowhere in the country, including Sana’a and Aden, where the UN-backed government is located, is safe for individuals at the moment. Even the country’s Prime Minister, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, has fled to Saudi Arabia and governs his country in exile. Asides from the Houthis, the official government, also tackles in Aden a separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which is demanding an independent South Yemen.
Asides from the civil war, there is also an uptick in terrorism because of the long-term presence of Al-Qaeda and the recent emergence of ISIS (ISIL) in Yemen. Suicide bombings and violent attacks by these terrorist groups and other militia groups are recurrent decimal in the country. In addition, both the UN-backed government and the Houthi rebels have been accused of arbitrary arrests, torture, prolonged detention, inhumane treatment, and extrajudicial executions. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which support the UN-backed government, have also been accused of committing human rights violations through their military campaigns.
The conflict or, better still, the Yemen Civil War, has been largely stuck in a stalemate since 2016. At least 56,000 civilians and combatants have been killed in armed violence in Yemen since January 2016, according to The Independent. Consequently, the war has caused a dire humanitarian crisis in the country, as it has resulted in famine, lack of access to clean drinking water, and a cholera outbreak.
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Afghanistan
GPI Ranking: 163
Description: Very low peaceful country
Afghanistan is the most dangerous place or country for any individual to visit, and it is not difficult to fathom why. Since the late 1970s, Afghanistan has been characterised by continuous warfare, including coups, revolutions, invasions, insurgencies, and civil wars.
Following its emergence in 1994, the Taliban ruled the country with brute force from 1996 to 2001, when it was ousted by the United States and its allies following the latter’s global fight against terrorism. Even with foreign troops on the ground and the restoration of democracy in the country, the Taliban were draconian as it and its allies constantly conducted violent attacks and bombings, albeit at a reduced rate, on government installations, mosques, marketplaces, and military formation of both the Afghan government and its NATO allies. The violence and brutality were exacerbated due to the Taliban’s accommodation of other terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda. These other groups instigated attacks in high numbers and reckless abandon in their sphere of influence.
However, following the announcement of the withdrawal of NATO troops in 2021, the Taliban started an offensive against the Afghan government and recaptured Kabul, the capital, in August 2021. Since then, it has been an administration of high hardness by the militancy group. There were stories of the Taliban deliberately targeting people who worked for either the deposed Afghan government or its NATO allies, with these people arrested, prevented from the country, or even killed.
The new Taliban administration strictly implements Sharia law, with offenders of certain laws punished by death. Stories and videos have emerged of extrajudicial killings and executions of people by people in the name of the group. In terms of human rights, women’s rights have been largely subjugated as they have been barred from seeking top jobs and asked to stay at home, while young girls of secondary school age have been ordered not to return to school. Women have also been ordered by the Taliban to wear full-body coverings when in public (either a burqa or an abaya paired with a niqāb).
Despite promising to provide adequate security, the Taliban has not been able to stem the tide of terrorism as ISIS-K, the Afghanistan affiliate of the Islamic State, have ramped up its attacks in the country. The terror group has launched attacks against various targets, predominantly mosques, hospitals, and transportation hubs. All areas of Afghanistan are unsafe due to civil unrest, armed conflict, crime, terrorism, and kidnapping.
Ukraine
NB: One country that deserves an “honourable” mention on this list is Ukraine. Although it was not ranked as one of the less peaceful countries in the 2021 GPI, things have taken a different turn in Ukraine following the invasion and the decimation of its territorial integrity by its more aggressive neighbour, Russia, in February 2022.
Following the invasion and forceful occupation of territories, Ukraine is currently one of the most dangerous places to visit. There have been reports of multiple explosions on railway tracks, the bombing of residential and administrative buildings with artillery, and the shooting and killing of Ukrainian citizens and even foreign journalists covering the war. As a result of the invasion, over six million Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes and become refugees outside of their country, while hundreds of thousands have managed to evacuate to Internally Displacement Camps (IDPs) and bomb shelters, mainly in the western part of the country.
Consequently, reports have emerged of human rights violations in areas where Russia has forcefully taken over. Coupled with the counteroffensive measures being taken by Ukraine’s armed forces, the possibility of individuals being caught in a crossfire is extremely high.
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