The U.S Bureau of Consular Affairs

By Luke Langlois

Today, I am going to share a resource with you. If you were to collect one million bucket lists, you would likely read of people’s desires to “travel the world” many, many times. However, the U.S Bureau of Consular Affairs, a branch of the Department of State, would most likely tell “world travelers” to hold their horses. You see, the Bureau has a little something called the Travel Advisories, the links for which can be found below. These websites gives the world’s countries a 1-4 ranking, based on how suitable a nation is for American travelers.

Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions

Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Level 4: Do Not Travel

Let me break down these ranks. A Level 1 country is normally safe to travel to; you would just need to take the usual precautions. Level 2 countries are also usually fine places to travel. They are marked as such due to a slightly higher rate of petty street crimes or an increased risk of terrorist activities. Level 3 countries are not the ideal travel destinations. They usually are marked as having high rates of crime or increased risk of terrorist activity, which is relatively similar to a Level 2 nation. However, Level 3 countries are set apart from Level 2 due to domestic strife. For example, Haiti is marked as Level 3 due to political and civil unrest; the high rates of crime are a result of this. Traveling to Level 4 countries is an extreme risk. If you are bent on traveling to a Level 4 nation, expect resistance at every step of the way. It is important to note, though, that people are only explicitly banned from traveling to the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea; everywhere else is “fair game.”  The Bureau, quite literally, recommends that travelers write their wills, as well as check on their life insurance, before they travel to a Level 4 country. Level 4 countries are usually rampant in crime, especially towards outsiders from the west.  Level 4 countries are, most likely, experiencing deadly domestic conflict, or are under the rule of a violent dictator. Some of the Level 4 countries are even in the midst of a civil war. There are only eleven countries with this designation. The Bureau advises those that travel to Level 4 countries to stay in certain, safer, locations within the nation. These areas tend to be densely populated regions that are somewhat under control of the local government, which makes it easier for a response in case something were to happen to the traveler. There is much more to be seen on the website itself, but this hopefully has given you a good idea of the rankings system.

I am not a traveler, but I enjoy checking the Travel Advisories every once in a while to see what is going on in the world. You see, the media does not tend to focus on domestic foreign affairs unless they’re large and publicized issues that Americans are interested in. To get an idea of what is going on in the world, you would have to really pay attention to the media, or you would have to find international outlets. While nations with stability have credible news sources, many nations do not have seriously credible sources of news.  In short, seeing the state of countries around the world is not an easy thing to do. With this resource, you can see the world at a glance. If you at all are curious, check out the Bureau’s websites below. There’s always something to learn.

https://travelmaps.state.gov/TSGMap/

A map view of the world, with rankings.

A list view of the world, with rankings.

Editor: Holden Hartle