The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has this year added eight more places to a list of destinations that are ‘too dangerous’ for UK citizens to visit, bringing the total number of ‘banned’ countries and locations to 24.
The Foreign Office issues travel advice for every nation around the world in a bid to help UK citizens stay safe when they are visiting other countries. It includes advice on crime, war terrorism, disease, weather, natural disaster and other factors that could pose a danger to UK visitors.
The latest update includes 24 countries or locations UK citizens are advised to avoid altogether. Places added to the list this year are Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Sudan, Lebanon, Israel, Belarus and the Palestinian territories.
The destinations are involved in major conflicts that could pose a serious risk to anyone visiting. The blacklist now includes Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Haiti, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Niger, North Korea, Somalia, Somaliland, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen.
The list equates to a fifth of the world in terms of landmass. As well as the black list, there is also a red list where travel should be avoided ‘unless absolutely essential’.
The list of 42 countries includes all or parts of Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, India, Indoensia, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Laos, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mozambique, Myanmar(Burma), Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Congo, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Western Sahara.