Which countries are safe to travel to?

Andreas the risk in even places like Ireland, Southern Italy or Greece is only listed at "medium" and I am not sure what criteria that map/rating scale is using. It also lists Cuba as medium, yet Canadian tourist flock to Cuba and you never hear about any issues there, in fact, my childs school regularily sends kids down there every year for band trips. My own daughter went with her school when she was 14 and didn't see any beggers, or pickpockets or scammers ( which she encountered on our europeon holiday) or crack and meth heads and drunks, which she has seen in our own city. I am not sure how they decide on which places are risky or not, or more importantly if those risks are specifically going to affect tourists..

Mmm looking at that site a bit more, seems to be a commericial site that is selling their "risk control" services and reports..

It's either garbage or something put out by the Greenland Tourist Board.

Since Slovenia is the big surprise to me I suppose they at least co-sponsored together with the Greenlandish Tourist Authority...

Oh, puh-lease! I used to live in Miami, which, along with a few other cities, skews the "risk" for the whole U.S., in my opinion. I can think of several places in the U.S. that deserve a little orange or red dot. The "risk" of having your pocket picked at a train station might be greater in some European urban centers, but Europe overall (including Southern Italy) has a very low risk of bodily injury or death in the commission of a crime.

Why is there any reason to believe this map has anything to do with travel risk? This is a risk map aimed at businesses who are thinking of doing business in or investing in various countries, NOT at specific risks to the traveler. While there is some correlation obviously because things like crime, political insatiability, and travel danger, this on the whole is of no use to a traveler. Also most countries/cities have areas that are safer and others that are more dangerous and on the whole this map doesn't seem to account for that.

Also doesn't account for race, ethnicity and religious affiliation. So an American Jew will be as safe in Iran as in Baltimore? Huh???? These simplistic attitudes are generally engineered to sell and idea or a product. This time a product.

This map does not included the whole southern Italy, but just Sicily, Calabria and Puglia. I find ridiculous that these regions of southern Italy have the same risk of Venezuela, Honduras, El Salvador, Brazil. Italy has fewer murders than in Great Britain and France (countries with comparable population), let alone Honduras, Venezuela or Brazil.

Eh. It's a neat map, but doesn't really tell you much. Oh, and it is as safe to travel to North Korea as the US.

Andreas, The best indicator that I've found for "which countries are safe to travel to" is to check the appropriate government websites: http://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/ I generally like to check more than one site, just to get a "broader picture", as travel advice sometimes differs between countries. Cheers!

Hi, Risky countries? Have you been to the USA? Gun deaths per capita in the US are highest in the developed world. I have never felt threatened while traveling abroad. For one thing, hand gun ownership is small in the developed world outside of the US. In any large city you should watch your valuables, whether in the US or abroad. Tourists are easier targets because we are distracted by the newness of our location and lack time to press charges.
wayne iNWI