last edited Aug 27, 2020
The State of the World
Location Map of Destinations
Destinations
Open the interactive map
Going a Little Further...
Planning a trip isn’t just about finding the best flight prices or listing things to do and see once you’re there. It might also mean trying to understand where you’re setting foot—and, beyond the local cultures, the context in which the people you’ll meet live. With the risk of realising that your future destination is far from being a paradise, at least for those who live there...
Political Systems and Democracy
A quick reminder of the main political systems:
Democracy
Democracy is considered by most people to be the best system—or at least the least bad one.
For several years now, the British newspaper *The Economist* has regularly conducted a survey ("The Democracy Index") aimed at evaluating, based on around sixty criteria, the level of democracy in different countries around the world.
Overall, it can be said that only one in six countries is a "true" democracy, roughly one in two is more or less democratic, and 30% (representing a third of humanity) is characterised by an authoritarian regime.
Unsurprisingly, the countries in Northern Europe and New Zealand rank at the top, while North Korea, the DRC, the Central African Republic, Syria, and Chad are at the bottom. For reference (in 2019), Canada ranked 7th out of 167, Switzerland 10th, France 20th, and (in the "flawed democracy" category) Belgium 33rd.
"Major Themes"
Human Rights
At the international level, there are universally recognised human rights for all individuals. Organisations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch continuously monitor the situation by country and fight for these rights to be respected worldwide.
Press Freedom
Beyond individual freedoms, there’s press freedom. At this level, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has become a benchmark and publishes an annual country ranking on the subject.
As is often the case, Northern European countries lead in terms of press freedom. North Korea, Eritrea, Turkmenistan, Syria, China, and Vietnam are traditionally at the bottom of the list. In 2017, Switzerland ranked 7th, Belgium 9th, Canada 22nd, and France 39th out of 180.
Corruption
From the small bribe a traveller might sometimes encounter to the *"extraordinary commercial expenses"* euphemistically defined by the European Union, corruption is a scourge in many countries. The German NGO Transparency International works to combat it and regularly publishes country rankings.
Environment
Among the many organisations fighting for environmental protection worldwide, Greenpeace is the most well-known for its actions and campaigns.
Socio-Economic Situation
For those interested in socio-economic data, the World Factbook offers a wealth of statistics by country on topics as diverse as population trends, life expectancy, literacy, schooling, GDP, inflation, transport, and more.
Risks and Other Dangers
If there’s one thing you hear all sorts of contradictory advice about, it’s travel safety! Here are some pointers to help sort through the different sources of information, along with a summary by world region.