Among the global safety risks that have arisen in 2026: the war in Iran, an Ebola outbreak, and AI models with possibly apocalyptic powers.
And all that's on top of already existing dangers such as crime, severe weather, and brewing unrest near and far.
As you plan your travels for 2027, it's crucial to know where the hot spots are, where things are secure and stable, and where (as in most places) the situation is a nuanced mix.
Each year, Global Guardian, a Virginia-based provider of international security services, releases a helpful visualization of threat levels in countries around the world.
The 2027 Global Risk Map shows each country with a color-coded, 5-level safety rating that's assigned, Global Guardian explains, "based on a series of indicators including crime, conflict, health, natural disasters, infrastructure, political stability, civil unrest, and terrorism."
The map's five risk levels are represented as green for low, yellow for moderate, orange for medium, dark orange for high, and red for extreme.
The results are similar to the U.S. State Department's 4-level travel advisory system, but not identical. To cite one difference, Global Guardian's analysis is arguably more attuned to cyberthreats, identifying countries with the highest data exposure risk (China is number one in that regard, according to the report).
Global Guardian's research doesn't supplant the State Department's info, but, rather, provides you with a solid second opinion, leaving you even better informed.
As with the State Department's advisories, Global Guardian's 2027 map sometimes assigns different risk levels to regions in the same country, reflecting how, as the company puts it, "crime and conflicts fluctuate across cities, rural areas, and peripheral regions."
A pertinent example is Mexico, which has areas shaded in three different colors on the map.
“The risk rating on the border and the risk rating in the western half where the cartels are very active could be very high risk, whereas if you go to the inner circle of Mexico City, Guadalajara, it could be medium to low risk,” Global Guardian CEO Dale Buckner told USA Today.
He estimates that more than half of nations covered by the map now have more than one risk level within their borders.
Where are the world's most dangerous places?
The Global Risk Map classifies countries and regions as "extreme risk" when they are experiencing active conflict as well as severe criminal activity and civil unrest. State institutions in these places, meanwhile, have proven unable to contain the violence or respond effectively to widespread disasters.
These especially troubled spots include the Gaza Strip, Haiti, Iran, Myanmar, Ukraine, Yemen, and a broad swath of northern and central Africa from Mali to Somalia.
Global Guardian's analysis finds that several countries in the Middle East are significantly less safe than they were last year as a result of the U.S.- and Israel-led war in Iran, which started in February.
Obviously, that includes a sharp risk increase in Iran itself, but has also raised what were previously "moderate" threat levels, in Global Guardian's estimation, in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, where Iran-backed Houthis have stepped up deadly attacks on civilian airports.
Where are the world's safest places?
Touches of green, indicating regions with stable conditions and effective institutions, are harder to find on 2027's Global Risk Map.
Several standbys of safety reports like these earn the distinction: Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the Nordic nations of Denmark, Iceland, and Norway.
Ireland and Portugal round out the map's low-risk places on the western side of Europe. Farther east, Croatia, Czechia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Hungary are shaded green as well.
Global Guardian's researchers single out Hungary in particular as having one of the year's best improvements on the safety front, owing to the ouster of authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán in April's parliamentary elections.
South Korea also moved into the low-risk column following the resolution of a volatile political crisis that involved a declaration of martial law at one point in late 2024.
Another bright spot is Jamaica, rated "medium risk" after previously being deemed high risk because of crime. The research credits government strategies combating gang control for the island's recent drop in homicides and other crimes.
The United States, for its part, gets a "moderate" safety rating. According to the map legend, places with that level of danger are "resilient and can manage most crises and threats to personal security quickly and effectively."
May it be so.
To download the map, explore an interactive version, and read further insights from security experts, go to GlobalGuardian.com/risk-map (registration required).