Government of Canada
Level 2Exercise a high degree of caution
Updated: Sep 25, 2026 Source
Last successfully checked: Oct 1, 2026
Last update: October 10, 2026
Updated dailyIs It Safe to Travel to the United Kingdom Right Now?
Yes, safe to travel
8 8.3 out of 10
Safety Score
Last updated: October 10, 2026 92% data coverage
United Kingdom has a safety score of 8.3/10 as of October 10, 2026, rated as Very low risk and ranking 24th out of 248 countries worldwide. The biggest concern is environment (6.8/10), while the strongest area is crime (8.4/10). It combines 19 government travel advisories and 5 other public datasets and is recalculated daily.
What are the safety risk areas?
Environment 6.8/10
Governance 8.0/10
Conflict 8.1/10
Health 8.3/10
Crime 8.4/10
Indicator-level detail
Environment 6.8/10 · Moderate · Coverage: 60%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Bank Air Pollution (PM2.5) | 9.1/10 | worldbank | 2023 |
| INFORM Natural Hazard Risk | 6.5/10 | inform | 2026 |
| INFORM Climate Risk | 4.3/10 | inform | 2026 |
Governance 8.0/10 · Low · Coverage: 100%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| V-Dem Rule of Law Index | 9.5/10 | vdem | 2025 |
| V-Dem Public Administration Quality | 7.1/10 | vdem | 2025 |
| V-Dem Political Corruption (inverted) | 9.6/10 | vdem | 2025 |
| INFORM Governance Index | 7.7/10 | inform | 2026 |
Conflict 8.1/10 · Low · Coverage: 100%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global Peace Index - Overall Score | 7.6/10 | gpi | 2026 |
| GPI Militarisation Score | 6.2/10 | gpi | 2026 |
| UCDP Conflict-Death Count (log-normalized) | 10.0/10 | ucdp | 2025 |
Health 8.3/10 · Low · Coverage: 100%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Bank Child Mortality Rate | 9.8/10 | worldbank | 2024 |
| INFORM Health Risk Index | 9.8/10 | inform | 2026 |
| INFORM Epidemic Risk Index | 7.6/10 | inform | 2026 |
Crime 8.4/10 · Low · Coverage: 100%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPI Safety & Security Score | 8.6/10 | gpi | 2026 |
| World Bank Intentional-Homicide Rate (population-reliability scaled) | 9.8/10 | worldbank | 2021 |
See how these scores are calculated on the Methodology page.
Community Sentiment
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What do governments say?
Sources (19)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it safe to travel to the United Kingdom in 2026?
Yes — the United Kingdom is one of the safest destinations on our index: as of October 2026 it scores 8.3/10, classified as Very low risk. The score is an uncertainty-weighted (Bayesian shrinkage) geometric mean of five pillars: conflict (30%), crime (25%), health (20%), governance (15%) and environment (10%).
A weak pillar drags the overall score down more than a strong one lifts it, and the mix also folds in a calibrated consensus of government travel advisories. Thin or stale data pulls a country's score toward a cautious regional baseline instead of guessing — see our methodology page for the full statistical detail.
crime (8.4/10) is the United Kingdom's strongest pillar, while the score is pulled down by governance (8.0/10) and above all by environment (6.8/10). This pillar tracks exposure to natural hazards such as storms, floods and earthquakes, and how well the country is prepared to respond to them.
It combines 19 government travel advisories and 5 other public datasets and is recalculated daily.
What is the biggest risk when traveling to the United Kingdom?
No single factor stands out as critical for the United Kingdom: its relatively weakest area is environment at 6.8/10, close to the global mid-range. This pillar tracks exposure to natural hazards such as storms, floods and earthquakes, and how well the country is prepared to respond to them.
The lowest-scoring signals here are climate-related hazard exposure (INFORM) and exposure to natural hazards (INFORM). Its strongest pillar is crime at 8.4/10.
What do government travel advisories say about the United Kingdom?
As of October 2026, the United Kingdom has 19 government travel advisories on record. The overall picture is reassuring: most governments advise only normal precautions for the United Kingdom, and none currently raises it above a low-level advisory.
How does United Kingdom compare to nearby countries?
| Country | Score | Conflict | Crime | Health | Governance | Environment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iceland | 8.9 | 9.2 | 8.7 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.3 |
| Denmark | 8.8 | 8.5 | 8.7 | 8.3 | 8.9 | 8.2 |
| Switzerland | 8.7 | 9.0 | 8.6 | 8.4 | 8.7 | 7.1 |
| Luxembourg | 8.7 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 8.6 | 8.7 | 8.0 |
| United Kingdom | 8.3 | 8.1 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.0 | 6.8 |
United Kingdom and its neighbouring countries
Related Countries
Similar safety scores
How has the safety score changed over time?
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Where does the data come from?
- advisoriesFresh
Travel advisories from 19 governments: US State Department, Government of Canada, Australian Government, German Federal Foreign Office, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, New Zealand SafeTravel, Ireland Department of Foreign Affairs, Hong Kong Security Bureau, Austrian Federal Ministry (BMEIA), Belgium Federal Public Service, Italy Viaggiare Sicuri, Spain Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan Bureau of Consular Affairs, Switzerland Federal Department (EDA), Poland Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Czech Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Hungary Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Checked: Oct 10, 2026
- gpiFresh
Global Peace Index -- annual peacefulness ranking by IEP
Data vintage: 2026Checked: Oct 10, 2026
- informFresh
INFORM Risk Index -- hazard, exposure, vulnerability, and coping capacity
Data vintage: 2026Checked: Oct 10, 2026
- ucdpFresh
UCDP Georeferenced Event Dataset (Uppsala Conflict Data Program) -- state-based and one-sided conflict deaths, via the Our World in Data mirror (CC-BY)
Data vintage: 2025Checked: Oct 10, 2026
- vdemFresh
V-Dem Institute Country-Year Dataset v16 (CC-BY-SA 4.0) -- Rule of Law, Political Corruption, and Public Administration indices (Coppedge et al., DOI 10.23696/vdemds26)
Data vintage: 2025Checked: Oct 10, 2026
- worldbankRecent
World Bank Development Indicators -- child mortality and PM2.5 air pollution
Data vintage: 2021–2024Checked: Oct 10, 2026