Most Dangerous Travel Destinations

Some people seek the quiet comfort of a safe resort, while others like to travel off the beaten path – but some like their holiday adventures to take them to the edge. Here are the most risky places to head to in 2023 and why.

Image by cocoparisienne CC0

Destinations with greatest risk of a natural disaster

Philippines, India, Indonesia, Mexico, & China.

The risk index for the Philippines is 46.8 and this decreases down through the above countries to 28.7 for China. As a measure, the safest place on the index is Singapore, scoring just 0.8!

Philippines – earthquakes, tropical cyclones, and flooding.
India – floods, earthquakes, landslides, and cyclones.
Indonesia – volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods, landslides, forest fire, and tsunamis.
Mexico – flooding and landslides, earthquakes and tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions.
China – the most risks come from storm surges, landslides, forest fires, earthquakes, typhoons, and floods.

Fun Fact – the United Kingdom has a natural disaster risk index of 5.8 from flooding, landslides, sinkholes and wildfires! The safest place is Singapore which has on occasion felt mild tremors from earthquakes  in neighbouring countries.

Places where you are most likely to get murdered

South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, & Philippines.

There are 36.4 murders per 100,000 people in South Africa, a huge jump form the lowest of the most dangerous – the Philippines with 6.5 per 100k. The UK scores 1.2 and the safest place on the planet for not facing death by homicide is Singapore with just 0.2 deaths per 100,000 people.

Essential safety advice:

Stay where there are other people – a hotel, hostel or apartment.
Check accommodation reviews before you book.
Ask what security measures your accommodation has in place.
Plan an itinerary and let a friend or family member know.
Avoid posting too much information about your trip or itinerary on social media. Especially if you are travelling solo.
Carry as little cash as possible and use credit cards.
Avoid showing off expensive gadgets and jewellery.
After dark it’s best to go in pairs or groups when possible.
Walk in well-lit areas and avoid shortcuts that are less well lit.
If you are going to a bar or club never leave your drink unattended.

Find out more essential safety tips in this travel safety article.

Highest risk of being killed in a road traffic accident

Dominican Republic, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, & Vietnam.

A staggering 64.6 people per 100,000 are killed in a road traffic incident in the Dominican Republic. This drops to 30.6 in Vietnam, a destination well known for it’s crazy roads. So how do we fare on this index in the UK? We have just 1.2 traffic deaths per 100k people per year.

If you’re travelling to the Dominican Republic, or any of the destinations in the danger zone, keep your wits about you as you cross the road, wear a helmet if you hire a scooter, wear a seatbelt in a car, make sure you use your lights when it’s dark, and be aware of everybody around you. It should go without saying but don’t drive a scooter or a car if you’ve had any alcohol!

Places where people lose their life to an injury

South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, & India.

In South Africa 5,331 people out of every 100,000 lose their life to an injury. There isn’t a great difference between this and the number of people who meet the same fate in India (a total of 3,970 per 100,000). In the UK this number is just over 1.5 thousand, and the place with the least number of lives lost to personal injury is once again Singapore with just 1,360.

One of the most common causes of injury to holiday makers for sometime was through balcony falls. This is being swiftly overtaken by people who are meeting their untimely demise taking a selfie on the edge of a cliff or with a bear in the background.

Destinations with most deaths from poor hygiene

India, South Africa, Indonesia, Cambodia & Philippines.

India scores the highest – the  number of deaths from poor hygiene conditions is 18.6 people per 100,000 shifting the mortal coil in this way. By contrast the Philippines has just 4.2 deaths per 100k, and the United Kingdom has 0.2. There is a tie between a whole lot of countries for the place you are most unlikely to experience such poor sanitary conditions – among them is Croatia, Australia, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Switzerland, and of course Singapore, all scoring 0.1.

Feel like you should get travel insurance?

So the safest travel destination across the board is Singapore, and least safe is South Africa. No matter where you are heading for a holiday or travel adventure, it is wise to get travel insurance that will cover you in the event of illness, injury, or if you require repatriation.

Get in touch with one of the team on 01892833338 or get a no obligation travel insurance quote online.