Government of Canada
Level 4Avoid all travel
Updated: Sep 24, 2026 Source
Last successfully checked: Oct 1, 2026
Last update: October 10, 2026
Updated dailyIs It Safe to Travel to North Korea Right Now?
Not recommended
5 4.8 out of 10
Safety Score
Last updated: October 10, 2026 82% data coverage
North Korea has a safety score of 4.8/10 as of October 10, 2026, rated as High risk and ranking 228th out of 248 countries worldwide. The biggest concern is governance (2.2/10), while the strongest area is health (6.7/10). It combines 18 government travel advisories and 5 other public datasets and is recalculated daily.
What are the safety risk areas?
Governance 2.2/10
Crime 4.8/10
Conflict 4.9/10
Environment 5.3/10
Health 6.7/10
Indicator-level detail
Governance 2.2/10 · High · Coverage: 100%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| V-Dem Rule of Law Index | 0.3/10 | vdem | 2025 |
| V-Dem Public Administration Quality | 2.4/10 | vdem | 2025 |
| V-Dem Political Corruption (inverted) | 3.3/10 | vdem | 2025 |
| INFORM Governance Index | 1.7/10 | inform | 2026 |
Crime 4.8/10 · Moderate · Coverage: 50%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPI Safety & Security Score | 5.4/10 | gpi | 2026 |
Conflict 4.9/10 · Moderate · Coverage: 100%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global Peace Index - Overall Score | 3.8/10 | gpi | 2026 |
| GPI Militarisation Score | 4.7/10 | gpi | 2026 |
| UCDP Conflict-Death Count (log-normalized) | 10.0/10 | ucdp | 2025 |
Environment 5.3/10 · Moderate · Coverage: 60%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Bank Air Pollution (PM2.5) | 7.8/10 | worldbank | 2023 |
| INFORM Natural Hazard Risk | 5.3/10 | inform | 2026 |
| INFORM Climate Risk | 3.5/10 | inform | 2026 |
Health 6.7/10 · Moderate · Coverage: 100%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Bank Child Mortality Rate | 9.2/10 | worldbank | 2024 |
| INFORM Health Risk Index | 6.7/10 | inform | 2026 |
| INFORM Epidemic Risk Index | 7.0/10 | inform | 2026 |
See how these scores are calculated on the Methodology page.
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What do governments say?
Sources (18)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it safe to travel to North Korea in 2026?
No — North Korea is currently a high-risk destination: as of October 2026 it scores 4.8/10 on our daily safety index, classified as High risk, and travel requires serious caution. 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.
health (6.7/10) is North Korea's strongest pillar, while the score is pulled down by crime (4.8/10) and above all by governance (2.2/10). This pillar gauges the rule of law and the reliability of institutions — a low score means police and courts may offer limited help if something goes wrong.
It combines 18 government travel advisories and 5 other public datasets and is recalculated daily.
What is the biggest risk when traveling to North Korea?
The main concern for North Korea is governance, its weakest pillar at 2.2/10. This pillar gauges the rule of law and the reliability of institutions — a low score means police and courts may offer limited help if something goes wrong.
The lowest-scoring signals here are rule of law (V-Dem) and institutional and governance fragility (INFORM). The second-lowest area is crime at 4.8/10, so it deserves attention too.
By contrast, health scores 6.7/10 and is North Korea's strongest area.
What do government travel advisories say about North Korea?
As of October 2026, North Korea has 18 government travel advisories on record. Most governments now advise against all travel to North Korea: the highest-level warning — do not travel — has been issued by United States and Canada, among others.
These warnings are severe enough to weigh heavily on our index: when a majority of governments issue a do-not-travel advisory, North Korea's overall score is pulled sharply toward the low end, on top of whatever its other pillars show.
How does North Korea compare to nearby countries?
| Country | Score | Conflict | Crime | Health | Governance | Environment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.6 | 7.8 | 8.7 | 8.1 |
| Japan | 8.2 | 8.6 | 8.7 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 5.2 |
| South Korea | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.3 | 7.7 | 7.9 | 5.4 |
| Bhutan | 8.0 | 8.8 | 7.9 | 7.3 | 7.0 | 6.5 |
| North Korea | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 6.7 | 2.2 | 5.3 |
North Korea and its neighbouring countries
Related Countries
In the same region
See all countries in this regionSimilar safety scores
How has the safety score changed over time?
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Where does the data come from?
- advisoriesFresh
Travel advisories from 18 governments: US State Department, Government of Canada, 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, Austrian Federal Ministry (BMEIA), Belgium Federal Public Service, Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 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: 2023–2024Checked: Oct 10, 2026