Travelling is one of the most recurrent hobbies in the world. Those who have the opportunity to jump from country to country are indeed privileged persons. Although traveling, in general, is a quite safe action, there are places in the world that you might want to reconsider going to, for reasons concerning your personal security. Let us take a glimpse at the top countries with the highest rate of theft, so you know where you’re headed.
1. Mexico
Mexico is the link between the U.S. and Latin America that allows the free flow of the drug trade. Apart from the risk of being a collateral victim to the organized crime that thrives there, you can get robbed at gunpoint.
People are poor and tourists are easy prey, especially if they venture into slums or go out at nighttime. It is not surprising at all that tourism in Mexico took a tragic downfall for the last couple of years.
Extortion and robberies have played a major role in making the country less of a tourist attraction and more of a place avoided at all costs. Mexico remains one of the riskiest countries in the world, where getting robbed is somewhat of the least concern.
2. The United States of America
There are cities in America where police forces have long since stopped to even try to calm the spirits down. Cities like Detroit, Flint, Kansas City, and Oakland are among those where the poverty and crime rates are the highest.
The most common assaults are robberies. People, especially teens and adolescents, are unemployed and subsequently unhappy, which pushes them to get illicit earnings by stealing. African Americans as well as Caucasians are lured into robbing other people.
In some places, the police simply do not have enough manpower to deal with all the crimes; these happen at a pace they cannot follow and robberies are almost too trivial to be worth all the effort. Be careful where you go if you decide to travel to the States.
3. France
Nothing can be more romantic than visiting France, and on the other side of the coin, nothing can be more dangerous. Keep in mind that Paris, Martinique, and Seine-Saint-Denis are the cities with the highest robbery rates.
Paris is the perfect hunting ground since it is crowded and tourists get easily too overexcited to pay attention to their belongings. Jewels, wallets, and cameras are stolen daily because tourists flash them out in public.
Another kind of robbery that takes more and more ground often experiments on highways and motorways. The opulence of the cities and the visitors are also reasons why robberies are frequent in France.
Take, for instance, Kim Kardashian’s being robbed at gunpoint just a few months ago, or the stealing of 1.5 million euros worth in gold near Lyon, on the 12th of December 2016.
4. Somalia
The Somalian civil war that scourged the country since 1991 has cemented it as being one of the poorest countries in the world. People are usually farming the land for sustenance, but armed robberies are a daily occurrence.
Poor folk usually get together as gangs that still fight bloody wars with the rival gangs. Apart from these inland dangers, the Somalian waters are challenging too: many Somalis are ‘working’ as pirates and the country has a long, black history of piracy that goes back to the ‘80s.
Before going on a cruise, remember that you can be stripped of your belongings and kidnapped for ransom as well.
5. Madagascar
Madagascar may be a beautiful country, but it is also one of the most dangerous. Child trafficking, pollution, and poverty are the main problems that the country is faced with.
All these social-economic issues propel Madagascar in the top countries where you’re most likely to be robbed since for many people stealing is the only way to get by. Armed robberies and highway robberies are real threats, and Madagascar travel advice against these types of robberies has been issued not just once in the past few years.
6. Venezuela
Political disequilibrium and the constant changes in demography have sparked a lot of violence in Venezuela. Caracas has been deemed as one of the most dangerous cities there. The targets of the criminals are usually uninformed tourists.
They do not know the cities and not even a guide could help them when getting robbed. As with any other country you may visit, it is advised you don’t go out at night.
If you need further information, you should know that Venezuela falls in second place at the highest murder rate in the world. Annually, burglaries, robberies, and violent crimes are increased. On top of that, there are numerous reports of tourists being kidnapped and either killed or subjected to forced labor.
7. Brazil
Last year, Brazil had 27 robberies in just one day, most of them in Rio de Janeiro, the main nexus of crime in the country. Public transport and open markets are high-risk areas in the major cities.
Drug trafficking, domestic violence, carjacking, and kidnapping are the main concerns in Brazil, and law enforcement either has little to no power over perpetrators or is too corrupt to intervene. Robbery is a natural consequence of all these crimes.
Unfortunately, kids are the most important part of this scheme. They respect drug dealers more than they do their parents, thusly they take them as role models. Children usually do the robberies themselves, because they can make themselves unseen quickly.
Final Thoughts
Countries with poor social, economic, and political climates are intrinsically the top countries with the highest robbery rate. When people are penniless and with no employment chance in sight, they get desperate.
Robbery thus becomes the easiest way of putting food on one’s table or buying household items. If you love traveling do not give up on your passion, but try to stay away from these countries, for your own safety.
