The riskiest cities in the world for visitors in 2024 have been ranked in a new analysis by Forbes Advisor. The study puts Venezuela’s Caracas, Pakistan’s Karachi, and Yangon in Myanmar in first, second and third place respectively on the risk list – meaning travel to those three cities is deemed riskier than any other cities internationally.
The criteria
60 cities around the globe are assessed in the ranking, based on their rating in seven differently-weighted categories of risk, with data taken from sources such as the United States Department of State, The Economist and the Ruhr University Bochum’s 2023 World Risk Report.
The seven categories are: travel safety, crime, personal security, health security, infrastructure vulnerability, natural disaster exposure, and digital security.
Caracas, Venezuela
Visitors to Caracas, Venezuela were deemed to be at higher risk than those going to any other city. Adding to the dishonour, the South American country’s capital was the only city in the list to score 100 out of 100 in the ranking, with the highest (worst) health security risk due to low level and poor quality healthcare services and infrastructure, and the highest crime risk. To make matters worse, the city’s infrastructure and digital security scored second highest (worst).
Both the US State Department and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advise against all travel to Caracas, and the latter goes as far as to say that the whole of Venezuela poses “a high threat of terrorist attack globally affecting UK interests and British nationals.”
The rest of the worst
Terrorism was a factor for Karachi, Pakistan too, rated the second riskiest city in the world, where infrastructure is again poor and the US says travel there should be reconsidered.
Yangon, Myanmar, meanwhile, places third due to poor healthcare provision, the high risk of identity theft, and the prevalence of natural disasters. As well as Yangon, Southeast Asia also saw Manila, Philippines rated fifth riskiest city and South Asia must own up to Dhaka, Bangladesh in sixth.
South and Central America is also prominent in the top ten of shame, with Bogota, Colombia seventh, Mexico City, Mexico in ninth and Quito, Ecuador tenth most risky city in the world.
Africa featured only twice, with Lagos, Nigeria rated fourth riskiest city in the world, and Cairo, Egypt in eighth place.
And the safest cities?
Southeast Asia featured notably again in the list, but this time for good reasons thanks to Singapore, rated the world’s safest city. And just behind Singapore, given second safest, is Tokyo Japan, while Toronto, Canada will have to be content with third safest city in the world.
