Jakarta, Indonesia Sentinel — As global tourism rebounds, safety is becoming just as important as scenery and cuisine when it comes to choosing travel destinations. A new global report highlights the most dangerous and safest countries for travelers in 2025.
According to the New York Post, financial comparison site HelloSafe has released its latest annual Travel Safety Index, which ranks the ten most and least secure destinations for tourists in 2025.
The index is based on 35 different metrics across five core categories: natural disaster frequency, social violence, involvement in armed conflicts (domestic or international), healthcare infrastructure, and degree of militarization.
Countries are scored on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the safest and 100 the most dangerous.
Topping the list of the world’s most dangerous travel destinations in 2025 is the Philippines, with a score of 82.32, largely attributed to what the report described as “a high level of societal violence.”
Despite being a popular tourist hotspot that welcomed 5.4 million international visitors in 2024, the nation’s security image has been marred by a string of violent incidents.
One high-profile case involved 26-year-old American YouTuber Elliot Onil Eastman, who was reportedly abducted and killed by armed men impersonating police officers in the southern Philippines in October 2024.
The country is also home to the militant group Abu Sayyaf, known for targeting foreign nationals for ransom. The group has long designated as a terrorist organization by the international community.
Here are the 10 most dangerous countries to visit in 2025, according to HelloSafe:
- Philippines (82.32)
- Colombia (79.21)
- Mexico (78.42)
- India (77.86)
- Russia (75.65)
- Yemen (74.6)
- Indonesia (72.94)
- Somalia (70.8)
- Mozambique (69.69)
- Pakistan (68.03)
Indonesia ranks seventh on the list, with concerns ranging from natural disasters to regional unrest.
Recently, Australia issued a travel advisory for citizens traveling to the country, including Bali, citing dangerous ocean conditions, visa policies, and potential cultural misunderstandings.
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On the flip side, Europe dominates the list of safest destinations. Iceland ranks as the safest country in the world, with a score of just 18.23, followed by Singapore and Denmark.
Here are the 10 safest countries for travel in 2025:
- Iceland (18.23)
- Singapore (19.99)
- Denmark (20.05)
- Austria (20.31)
- Switzerland (20.51)
- Czech Republic (21.19)
- Slovenia (21.44)
- Finland (21.81)
- Ireland (22.49)
- Hungary (22.87)
As international travel rises, HelloSafe’s report provide valuable insight for tourists navigating a changing global landscape where safety concerns increasingly factor into vacation plans.
(Raidi/Agung)
