the source you use (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html/) added like 100 more countries
uzbekistan samoa sudan russia north korea nicaragua malaysia libya ireland iran fiji burkina faso belarus afghanistan ethiopia haiti sri lanka colombia trinidad nepal egypt png sao tome tajikistan turkmenistan syria somalia saudi arabia mali maldives kuwait iraq georgia drc czechia croatia chile belgium yemen vanuatu uruguay tuvalu tonga tanzania sweden suriname south sudan solomon islands slovenia seychelles roc paraguay pakistan netherlands nauru namibia mongolia madagascar lithuania lesotho latvia kiribati jamaica guinea guinea bissau estonia eritrea dominican republic cuba costa rica comoros car ivory coast myanmar brazil bolivia bangladesh bahrain argentina and algeria are all class 4 now (probably cause covid)
Lol, the State Department is officially pathetic. They are still rating Sweden as a Level 4. There are virtually no Covid cases or deaths in Sweden, nor is Sweden imposing any large scale restrictions that would affect tourists. This is just an example. There are dozens of other countries marked as Level 4 for absolutely no reason. This is cowardice, plain and simple. We'll update the quiz if the State Department ever gets their heads out of their butts.
This has now reached peak idiocy. Senegal is currently in level 1 (safest) while Singapore is in level 4 (least safe). The State Department has gone full clown.
You are much more likely to die from COVID than you are from... mongoose attacks or whatever you're worried about in Senegal. Also much more likely to die from this than violent crime. There are about 400-500k homicides worldwide every year. Last year there were 5 million worldwide COVID deaths. But based on several things QM has posted I get the sense that wherever he turns for news has some interest in downplaying the latter.
I think Quizmaster is referring, in large parts, to vaccination rates. Senegal has vaccinated 8% of its population whereas Singapore has vaccinated 82% of its population. While I agree that COVID remains a pretty big threat and that unvaccinated people should not under any circumstance be traveling abroad, I definitely think that traveling in a mostly vaccinated place like Singapore at this point is safer than traveling in a mostly unvaccinated place like Senegal (especially since the former has some of the world's best healthcare and the latter I'm guessing has pretty poor healthcare).
Yes, they actually put New Zealand on 'do not travel' because of Covid, at a time when New Zealand was Covid-free and there was a massive outbreak in the USA.
I don't know if Iran should be on this list (I know you can't choose what the US does, I'm just saying). If you ever have been to Isfahan you'll know what I mean.
I am from Lebanon and we are acually very nice and open and we have a culture and history that is well worth seeing. I thik it‘s a shame that people look at us negatively because of our work against the occupation regime „Israel“
The State Department has finally stopped clowning itself so we updated the quiz. Before, they had countries like Sweden on the list because of Covid, even though Sweden's covid risk was much lower than the United States.
Americans, like most people, see dangerous things from other countries as inherently more dangerous than dangerous things from their own country. Even when this is objectively false.
Tonga had a devastating volcano eruption and the country infrastructure is not quite functioning. It's probably closed for tourism anyway, but it's not so much being dangerous but you may not be able to get help if you need it. (Kind of similar with Iran, of course it's generally safe to travel, but if something goes wrong there's little US govt can do for you, plus arbitrary detentions when it's politically convenient)
I was in Central African Republic a couple months ago to see the gorillas and nothing bad happened to me. The Russian mercenaries have inflicted major casualties on the rebel groups there. I was told by the lodge manager that they're the reason the civil war ended in that country.
If you don't mind my asking, how were you able to go there? I'd love to travel more but CAR has been one of those countries that seems impossible to get to (properly).
Also I know Myanmar was killing the Rohingyas but why would Americans not of South Asian descent be in enough danger for the US to tell them not to go there?
Tonga had a volcano eruption earlier this year, so its probably more a of "plz don't go, they're recovering and there aren't a ton a services if some thing goes wrong". Belarus because of their involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war and what happened with than Ryanair flight.
...US Department of State currently recommends US citizens Reconsider Travel to Papua New Guinea due to crime and civil unrest. Exercise increased caution due to unexploded ordinance, ongoing elections, and volcanic activity. Some areas have increased risk
Really enjoyed this, I used to go onto the Foreign Office website at my old job when I was bored to see which countries had areas (or were fully) red, so that travel was not advised.
I'd be interested to see what differences there were with a UK list, slightly fewer countries I imagine.
This challenge led Commander-in-Chief Sr. General MIN AUNG HLAING (MAH) to launch a coup in February 2021 that has left Burma reeling with the return to authoritarian rule, the detention of ASSK and thousands of pro-democracy actors, and renewed brutal repression against protestors, widespread violence, and economic decline.
..In May 2021, the NUG announced the formation of an an armed wing called the People's Defense Force, and in September announced the start of an insurgency against the military junta that has continued into 2022.
... The US Department of State currently recommends US citizens DO NOT TRAVEL to Burma due to civil unrest and armed conflict. Reconsider travel to Burma due to limited and/or inadequate healthcare resources. Exercise increased caution due to wrongful detentions and areas with land mines and unexploded ordnance.
No, what I meant was, I hope countries don't get banned for stupid reasons, remember in 2021 when Sweden was on here for "Covid stuff". If a country like DPRK for example, is actually unsafe, then that's understandable, so are countries that are ravaged by war. But if its for a reason like "Covid stuff" when Covid cases are low, then that's a bad reason to ban a country!
Yeah, the list is bad. Puerto Vallarta is in a Level 3 "Reconsider Travel" area. It's a little silly. There are loads of tourists. It's perfectly safe. Much safer than Chicago or New Orleans.
OMG QUIZMASTER REPLIED!!! Yeah Ur right, the USA government is saying "Oh Kiribati is unsafe due to COVID-19!!!" Yet places like New Orleans or Skid Row have tons of violence and crime, yet are considered "Safer"...
Military coups and militant jihadists have destabilized the already poor country. Reports of violence, kidnappings and mass killings are becoming the norm. The US government would very likely be unable to assist any citizens who find themselves in peril, including NGO and aid workers. It's a tragic situation.
That is funny, on the website you habe to "exercice increased caution" in Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Italy, Spain, Germany or France, the same level as Eritrea, Congo, Peru or Israel. I didn't realize that I was living in such a dangerous continent :D
Russia is WAY more prone to kidnapping American citizens to use as political leverage than China is. I'm guessing that's a big part of why North Korea is on this list actually.
UPDATE: Aug 2, 2023 / The United States Department of State has raised the travel advisory for the Republic of the Niger to Level 4 due to the rising tensions in the country.
In addition to the countries having a coup currently in Africa, I think Armenia and Azerbaijan will be added due to Nogorno-Karabakh and ethnic cleansing there. Though the conflict is getting minimal attention in the USA.
I've been in Iraq, Burkina Faso, Mali, Russia and Ukraine. I don't consider them to be really risky, just if you avoid to go to the war front. In fact walking around their cities is safer than doing the same in US.
A lot of the status is more a matter of "If something did happen to you, can we as the state department intervene on your behalf and assist to get you out of the mess and/or get assurance that you are treated fairly." Countries where large areas are held by factions that aren't the recognized national government aren't going to be nearly as accommodating. China can and often will be difficult to work with but there is no mistaking who speaks for the people in the Wuhan province. Likewise if there is a entire country ruling regime that repeatedly dismisses the inquiries of the the US government like Russia, they are going to be rated a a higher risk.
uzbekistan samoa sudan russia north korea nicaragua malaysia libya ireland iran fiji burkina faso belarus afghanistan ethiopia haiti sri lanka colombia trinidad nepal egypt png sao tome tajikistan turkmenistan syria somalia saudi arabia mali maldives kuwait iraq georgia drc czechia croatia chile belgium yemen vanuatu uruguay tuvalu tonga tanzania sweden suriname south sudan solomon islands slovenia seychelles roc paraguay pakistan netherlands nauru namibia mongolia madagascar lithuania lesotho latvia kiribati jamaica guinea guinea bissau estonia eritrea dominican republic cuba costa rica comoros car ivory coast myanmar brazil bolivia bangladesh bahrain argentina and algeria are all class 4 now (probably cause covid)
Two words: drop bears.
Also I know Myanmar was killing the Rohingyas but why would Americans not of South Asian descent be in enough danger for the US to tell them not to go there?
...US Department of State currently recommends US citizens Reconsider Travel to Papua New Guinea due to crime and civil unrest. Exercise increased caution due to unexploded ordinance, ongoing elections, and volcanic activity. Some areas have increased risk
I'd be interested to see what differences there were with a UK list, slightly fewer countries I imagine.
This challenge led Commander-in-Chief Sr. General MIN AUNG HLAING (MAH) to launch a coup in February 2021 that has left Burma reeling with the return to authoritarian rule, the detention of ASSK and thousands of pro-democracy actors, and renewed brutal repression against protestors, widespread violence, and economic decline.
..In May 2021, the NUG announced the formation of an an armed wing called the People's Defense Force, and in September announced the start of an insurgency against the military junta that has continued into 2022.
... The US Department of State currently recommends US citizens DO NOT TRAVEL to Burma due to civil unrest and armed conflict. Reconsider travel to Burma due to limited and/or inadequate healthcare resources. Exercise increased caution due to wrongful detentions and areas with land mines and unexploded ordnance.
Covid just made it even stupider.