Iran is safe

Iran is safe to travel at the same rate as the UK when it comes to security, according to a new interactive map showing the risk level around the world.

The 2019 Travel Risk Map, launched by global risk experts International SOS in collaboration with Control Risks, shows the danger level in each country and territory based on the current threat posed to travelers by political violence (including terrorism, insurgency, politically motivated unrest, and war), social unrest (including sectarian, communal and ethnic violence) and violent and petty crime.

Factors such as the robustness of the transport infrastructure, the state of industrial relations, the effectiveness of the security and emergency services and the country’s susceptibility to natural disasters are also taken into consideration.

The map lists five categories of risk: insignificant, low, medium, high and extreme. Very few countries manage to make it into the “insignificant” bracket; in Europe, only Luxembourg, Denmark, Slovenia, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Iceland, and Greenland are put in this category.

The majority of European countries are deemed low risk, including the UK; as are Iran, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Uzbekistan in the Middle East. Canada, the US, Australia, and New Zealand are all low risk too.

“Extreme” risk countries are almost exclusively in Africa and the Middle East, including Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Libya, South Sudan, and Somalia.