Methodology

How the Sicuro Live Travel Risk Map is built, where the data comes from, and what it is and isn't useful for.

Last reviewed: 15 May 2026

How we calculate the composite risk level

Every country on the map shows a single risk level from 1 to 4. That number is the composite of the underlying government advisories we ingest.

The rule is simple. We take the highest level assigned by any of our government sources and use that as the composite.

If the US State Department rates a country at Level 2 and the UK FCDO rates it at Level 3, we show Level 3. If only one source has rated the country, we use that source's level. If neither has, we show "No data".

We use the max rather than an average because risk decisions should reflect the most cautious assessment available. A trip is no safer because one government is relaxed when another is concerned.

The four levels follow the US State Department's framework, which most enterprise travel risk teams already use:

• Level 1 — Exercise Normal Precautions. Standard travel precautions apply. Most countries sit here.
• Level 2 — Exercise Increased Caution. Specific identified risks. Plan around them.
• Level 3 — Reconsider Travel. Serious risks. Travel only with strong justification and mitigation.
• Level 4 — Do Not Travel. Severe risk to life or liberty. Travel is strongly advised against.

Where the data comes from

Four government and intergovernmental sources feed the map. We refresh every 30 minutes.

How the FCDO narrative maps to a level

The UK FCDO doesn't use a numeric scale. We assign a level based on the language and warnings in the country guide:

• No warnings against travel → Level 1
• Specific risks flagged but no broad warning → Level 2
• "Advise against all but essential travel" to parts of the country, or to the whole country in some cases → Level 3
• "Advise against all travel" to the country or large parts of it → Level 4

We re-evaluate the mapping rules quarterly and publish changes in the update history below.

ISO 31030 alignment

ISO 31030:2021 is the international standard for organisational travel risk management. The free risk report generated from this tool is structured to align with its core sections so it can sit alongside your own risk register without rework.

The report covers:

• Identification of the threat picture for the destination, drawn from official government sources.
• Analysis of the relative severity, including composite level and active disaster and health alerts.
• Evaluation in plain language, with a recommended decision banner (Travel Permitted, Travel Permitted with Caution, Reconsider, Do Not Travel).
• Treatment suggestions covering pre-travel briefing, insurance, communications, journey management and emergency contacts.
• Monitoring and review triggers, including the last update date for each source.

The report is a starting point for ISO 31030 compliance. It is not, on its own, a complete organisational travel risk management system. Sicuro consultants build bespoke ISO 31030 programmes for clients who need certified compliance.

What this tool is not

To keep expectations honest:

• It is not professional security, medical, legal or insurance advice. Use it as a starting point and verify before travel.
• It is not a real-time alert system. We refresh every 30 minutes from public sources.
• It is not insurance. For corporate, high-risk and short-trip travel cover, see high-risk travel insurance.
• It is not a substitute for an in-country security assessment. A map cannot tell you whether a specific hotel is safe tonight. People on the ground can.
• It does not cover non-state risks at sub-national level. We show country-level composite risk. City-level and corridor-level risk requires bespoke assessment.

Refresh history

The data is refreshed every 30 minutes by an automated cron job. Below is the most recent successful refresh and last attempt for each source.

When to call us

This tool is free, ad-free, and accepts no money for placement or rating. We built it because clients kept asking for a clean way to see the picture in one place.

If you need any of the following, we can help:

• A bespoke pre-travel briefing for a specific country or trip
• In-country security, journey management or executive protection
• Crisis response or emergency extraction
• High-risk or specialist travel insurance — see our cover
• An ISO 31030-aligned travel risk programme built for your organisation
• A white-label version of this map for your intranet

Document control

For questions about how we ingest, score or surface data, email commercial@sicurogroup.com.