World?s worst expat destinations for safety and security

One of the most crucial sub-categories of the many annual expat surveys is Safety and Security, as it identifies not only the safest world countries but also the most dangerous.

Personal safety is one of the most important considerations when deciding on a relocation destination, especially if your family is joining you overseas. Surveys list the three elements in their sub-categories as political stability, personal safety and peacefulness, all rated on a one-to-seven scale. The recent InterNations survey went a step further, creating a female global ranking based on replies from almost nine thousand women respondents.

One result which would have resulted in shock/horror several decades ago was no surprise in the latest survey – the USA is firmly placed in the top fifteen most dangerous expat locations. According to respondents, the American dream isn’t just dead, it’s buried, as the US’s ranking as regards safety has slumped lower in each of the last two years’ surveys and is still falling. The gun control issue and the massive increase is shootings have fuelled fears amongst expat parents over their childrens’ safety, even within the school gates, and the present political situation is seen by many as a precursor to serious street violence.

The world’s most dangerous country for expats and especially for women is Brazil, for its appalling social injustice, its lack of infrastructure and its poor public security. The country’s political situation is also a cause for expat concern. South Africa is the second most dangerous, with its violent crime due to the economic situation and the huge gap between the haves and have-nots. Turkey and Argentina have been in the bottom 10 as regards danger for almost a decade, and Mexico’s drug-related gang violence as well as its government’s inability to deal with corruption added to its low rating in the survey.

Kenya, Peru, India, Egypt, the Dominican Republic and Myanmar are all destinations to be avoided by expats to whom safety and security is a major concern, and Saudi Arabia’s rating is also poor, due perhaps to its archaic laws as well as is its hidden political agendas. Many expat respondents linked political instability as well as corruption with the actual physical dangers of taking on a job in the above countries.