A study has revealed the most dangerous and safest countries in the world to visit. The Global Peace Index (GPI), now in its 19th year, has again ranked 163 independent countries, analysing them based on their level of peacefulness. While Iceland was named the safest country in the world for tourists to visit, one country not too far from the UK was named the least safe to travel to. Russia took the top spot in the ranking of most dangerous countries to visit, placing higher than poorer countries on the list. 

According to Global Citizen’s Solutions, Russia is the 11th richest country in the world, ranking higher than South Korea, Australia, Spain, Saudi Arabia and Switzerland. However, it is the least safe for people to visit in 2025. “Russia, for the first time, is the least peaceful country in the world on the 2025 GPI, followed by Ukraine, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Yemen,” the GPI 2025 report revealed.

A number of factors contributed to the final rankings, including ‘ongoing conflict domain’. Russia was deemed unsafe due to its ongoing war with Ukraine, among other reasons.

The study also revealed which countries had the biggest “deterioration” over the last year, with Russia having one of the largest. “Russia recorded the third largest deterioration of any country on the 2025 GPI, with its overall score deteriorating by 6.5 per cent,” the GPI revealed.

“Russia fell two places in the rankings and is now the least peaceful country on the GPI. The primary driver of the deterioration in peacefulness in Russia was the ongoing war with Ukraine, whose impact was reflected in significant deteriorations on the Ongoing Conflict and Safety and Security domains, which deteriorated by 13.4 per cent and 4.6 per cent, respectively.”

While Russia is considered one of the richest countries in the world, that is not necessarily reflected in the lived experience of its citizens. According to the European Parliament, Russia’s economic growth has increased the gap in wealth among its population.

“The income gap is exacerbated by such factors as corruption and low taxes for the rich, but it is also mitigated by a relatively inclusive education system,” it says.

It adds that statistics show wealth and income are not equally distributed amongst Russians. “Nearly half of pre-tax national income goes to Russia’s top 10 %, compared to around one-third in France; Russia has more billionaires relative to the size of its economy than any other large country,” it says.

The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to Russia. It warns Brits of security incidents, such as drone attacks and Russian air defence activity, a lack of flights to return to the UK, and a limited ability for the UK government to provide support.

It also warns that Russia has a track record of targeting foreign nationals and holding them in detention as leverage over other countries. Meanwhile, the FCDO’s ability to assist travellers in these circumstances is “extremely limited”.

In the GPI 2025 list, the UK is ranked at number 30, while the US is considerably low at 128.