Most Dangerous Countries in the World 2024

Every year, the Institute for Economics and Peace releases its Global Peace Index report. This report is the only one of its kind that measures how dangerous or safe a nation is based on 23 different indicators, including political terror, deaths from internal conflict, and murder rate.

The GPI report evaluates 163 countries that account for more than 99.7% of the world’s total population. The factors analyzed in the report are grouped into three different areas: Safety and Security, Ongoing Conflict, and Militarization. The factors used to compile this report include: the number of internal and external violent conflicts, level of distrust, political instability, potential for terrorist acts, number of homicides, and military expenditures as a percentage of GDP. A score is calculated for each of the 163 nations featured in the report based on these factors. The higher the score, the more dangerous the country is and the lower it ranks in terms of safety.

Top 20 Most Dangerous Countries in the World (Global Peace Index 2024 — higher scores are less safe)

Compared to the 2023 Global Peace Index, the 2024 GPI saw global peace deteriorate by 0.56% overall, the fourteenth decline in the past fifteen years. While 65 countries became safer and more peaceful, 97 became less so, which led to an overall slide. Declines in peace and safety, the report points out, happen faster and move further than improvements.

According to the 2024 GPI report, the Israel-Gaza conflict has had a very strong impact on global peacefulness, with Israel and Palestine having the first and fourth largest deteriorations in peacefulness, respectively. Three other countries – Ecuador, Gabon, and Haiti – represented the other largest deteriorations in peacefulness.

Moving back one year, the 2022 Global Peace Index saw 84 countries make safety improvements and 79 countries register deteriorations. Overall, the GPI average deteriorated by 0.42% from 2022 to 2023, and 17 countries showed a “very low” state of peace. These countries have scores above 2.9. For comparison, the world’s safest countries have scores between 1.1 and 1.44.

In addition to determining the most dangerous countries in the world, the Global Peace Index also tracks the safest countries in the world. Also noteworthy is the fact that the GDI measures the safety of people as a whole. Other data sources may focus more specifically on certain demographics, such as the most dangerous countries for women or the most dangerous countries for Christians.

The 10 Most Dangerous Countries in the World

1. Yemen

According to the United Nations, Yemen is still immersed in the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. More than six years of ongoing military conflict has forced 4.3 million people to leave their homes and put 14 million people at risk of starvation and deadly disease. About 80% of the Yemen population (24 million people) is in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. According to the 2024 Global Peace Index, peacefulness in Yemen has deteriorated due to increased political instability, violent demonstrations, and heightened tensions in the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Sadly, Houthi missile and drone attacks in late 2023 intensified, threatening Red Sea and Gulf of Aden routes. The conflict further escalated due to the US and UK military responses in the region.

2. Sudan

Sudan remains one of the least peaceful countries in the world, facing severe internal strife following the outbreak of armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023. This power struggle has led to widespread violence, particularly in West Darfur, where reports indicate that over 15,000 civilians have been killed in targeted attacks, with estimates suggesting as many as 150,000 deaths nationwide. The conflict has also displaced millions, making the humanitarian crisis even worse and rendering many areas inaccessible to aid organizations. Sudan is also marked by lawlessness and regional instability, making it one of the least safe countries in the turbulent region of North Africa.

3. South Sudan

The least-peaceful country in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Sudan continues to struggle with high levels of internal conflict and remains in a challenging situation. The country is grappling with significant issues related to ongoing conflict, political instability, and humanitarian crises. Despite ongoing efforts toward peace and stability, South Sudan faces persistent internal tensions and conflicts that severely impact its overall peacefulness and security. Its GPI score has shown only minimal improvement since previous reports, reflecting the ongoing challenges in achieving lasting peace. Its GPI score has increased only slightly since the 2023 report, nudging up from 3.221 to 3.324.

4. Afghanistan

With a 2024 score of 3.294 (slightly less safe than 2023's 3.448), Afghanistan is the fourth most dangerous country in the world, after having been the most dangerous one for six years in a row. As a war-torn country that has been mired in war, revolution, and civil strife for decades, Afghanistan experienced a significant decrease in conflict-related deaths in 2022, with the number falling by 90.6%, from almost 43,000 to just over 4,000. It is still the least peaceful country in South Asia that saw a deterioration in peacefulness on the 2024 GPI due to increases in military size and slight declines in safety indicators. Despite this, Afghanistan has made progress in recent years, with internal conflict deaths dropping from over 18,000 in 2017 to less than 350 in 2023, and a reduced impact from terrorism.

5. Ukraine

In recent years, Ukraine experienced one of the largest deteriorations in overall score both regionally and globally. This is primarily due to the Russian invasion in February 2022, which led to widespread conflict, mass displacements, and severe humanitarian crises. The invasion resulted in close to 30% of the Ukrainian population being estimated as refugees or internally displaced. The conflict has had a profound impact across multiple domains, with the largest deteriorations occurring in the deaths from internal conflict, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), and armed services personnel rate indicators.

The repercussions of Russia's war with Ukraine have been felt worldwide, particularly in the areas of energy and food scarcity, and are expected to continue reverberating through the 2024 report and beyond, causing rises in metrics including food insecurity, military expenditures, and political instability.

6. DR Congo

Poverty and political unrest are an everyday occurrence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with rebels and armed forces wandering certain areas at will. Crimes, including murder, rape, kidnapping, carjackings, burglaries, muggings, and highway robberies, are fairly common. Even natural disasters, such as floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions, are a concern. Like South Sudan, DR Congo experienced only a small deterioration in GPI between 2023 and 2024, going from 3.214 to 3.264.

7. Russia

While most of the fighting in the Russo-Ukrainian War is taking place in Ukraine, Russia actually ranked as the more dangerous of the two countries for the period that encompassed the second year of the military conflict. This was partially due to the fact that Russian army casualties in Ukraine count toward Russia's level of danger and partially due to pre-existing economic stresses and an authoritative government that is often notably hostile to its own populace. Additionally, trade embargoes and other international restrictions on Russia have strained Russia's economy and food trade and placed increased hardship on the Russian people.

8. Syria

Syria's 2023 GPI of 3.294 dropped slightly to 3.173 in the 2024 report, which can be attributed to ongoing conflict, civil unrest, and widespread violent crime, including robberies, assaults, carjacking, and kidnappings. The Syrian civil war has plagued the country since March 2011 and has been the second-deadliest war of the 21st century. As of March 2019, 5.7 million people had fled Syria, and more than 6 million had been displaced internally. Armed conflict exists mostly between the government and opposition groups, with little to no rule of law or order in place outside the country’s capital of Damascus.

9. Israel

In 2024, Israel dropped 11 places to rank 155th in the Global Peace Index, its lowest position yet. This 10.5% decline was driven by the October 7th Hamas-led attacks and Israel’s response in Gaza, worsening its Ongoing Conflict score by over 31% and escalating regional tensions with attacks involving Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. Safety and Security also declined significantly, with nearly 1,200 casualties from the attack—the largest since 9/11—and increased violent demonstrations. Public feelings of safety fell sharply, with only 70% of Israelis feeling safe, down from 83% last year.

10. Mali

Mali has emerged as a prominent conflict zone over the past decade, facing escalating civil war and violence that have deeply affected communities across the country. The conflict has intensified with non-state armed groups, including terrorist factions, contributing to instability. Over 2 million people in Mali and the broader Sahel region are now displaced, and tens of thousands have lost their lives as violence spills across borders. International efforts to restore peace, led by France and neighboring African nations, have struggled to contain the crisis, which has expanded to impact much of West Africa. This ongoing turmoil has created severe humanitarian challenges, with more than 7 million people in need of assistance across the region.

11-17. Somalia, N. Korea, Iraq, Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Nigeria

The additional countries categorized as having "very low peace" (a GPI of 2.9 or higher) are Somalia (3.091), North Korea (3.055), Iraq (3.045), Central African Republic (3.009), Burkina Faso (2.969), Myanmar (2.943), and Nigeria (2.907). Somalia and the Central African Republic are two countries in which more than 20% of the population are either refugees or internally displaced. Iraq, as a post-conflict country in the Middle East and North Africa region, as well as the Central African Republic, Somalia, and Myanmar have recorded improvements in peacefulness since the last report.