WorldRisk

Which passport do you hold?

Risk to a traveller depends on their nationality. A country that sanctions your destination, or is sanctioned by it, changes how you are treated on arrival. Choosing here adjusts every score on the site.

We hold travel advice written for four nationalities so far. Selecting anything else shows the neutral baseline, and every page says so where it applies rather than presenting it as an assessment made for you.

Kept in your browser only. Nothing is sent anywhere, and you can change it at any time from the header.

All countries

Afghanistan

84Extreme84 of 100, Extreme band, 75 to 100good confidence(7/7 dimensions)
What this score means
Extreme75 to 100
Severe and systematic. Device search, interception and detention over online activity are documented rather than theoretical. Reconsider what you carry and what you say.
High50 to 74
Substantial and consistently evidenced measures. Device inspection, monitored networks or restricted services should be expected rather than treated as unlikely.
Caution25 to 49
Some risk, and manageable with precautions. Measures are evidenced but are narrow, inconsistently applied, or the picture is mixed.
Low0 to 24
Ordinary precautions. No systematic device search, network restriction or prosecution of visitors for online speech is evidenced.

Government travel advice is written for one citizenry, so the same country carries a different assessment depending on your passport. Change it in the header.

Showing the baseline, which weights every issuer equally. No government in our corpus publishes travel advice written for you, so this is not addressed to you specifically.

Dimensions

Each dimension is scored independently, because the traveller who cares about legal exposure for what they have posted is often not the one carrying client data. Higher means more risk.

Surveillance and interception

How comprehensively are communications intercepted, retained, and monitored, and is commercial spyware in use?

100Extreme100 of 100, Extreme band, 75 to 100

good confidence6 independent sources

Why this score (12 sources)

  • Freedom House 2026 scored AFG 0 of 4 on freedom to express personal views on sensitive topics without fear of surveillance or retribution.

    Freedom House, Freedom in the World · observed 2026-01-01

  • V-Dem Digital Society Project 2025 scored AFG 1.21 of 4 on how comprehensively the government monitors social media and private online communication, where higher is freer.

    V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, Digital Society Project · observed 2025-12-31

  • V-Dem Digital Society Project 2025 scored AFG 0.13 of 4 on how far privacy protection law shields communications from government access, where higher is freer. This measures what privacy law permits rather than what monitoring is practised, so it is read here as a constraint on interception rather than a measurement of it.

    V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, Digital Society Project · observed 2025-12-31

  • The World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2025 scored AFG 0.12 of 1 on whether freedom from arbitrary interference with privacy is effectively guaranteed, a measure built from expert assessments of warrantless interception of communications.

    World Justice Project, Rule of Law Index, sub-factor 4.6 · observed 2025-01-01

  • Research by HRW published in October 2025 found that remaining news outlets in the country face surveillance and censorship, and journalists and other media workers are punished for any perceived criticism.

    CIVICUS Monitor country updates · observed 2025-12-02 · extracted by language model

  • Intelligence agents monitor and detain reporters over their social media content, while the morality police arrest those who violate their stringent interpretation of Sharia law, which includes a ban on music, soap operas, and programs co-hosted by male and female presenters.

    Committee to Protect Journalists, via a site scoped search · observed 2025-08-13 · extracted by language model

  • Armed personnel confiscated employees’ phones, questioned staff for several hours, and placed staff under surveillance, according to sources cited in news reports.

    CIVICUS Monitor country updates · observed 2026-06-15 · extracted by language model

  • They will likely monitor your movements and activities while you are in the country.

    Global Affairs Canada, Travel advice and advisories · observed 2026-10-16 · written for CAN nationals · extracted by language model

  • Activism is prohibited and all forms of communication are closely scrutinized in Afghanistan.

    Global Affairs Canada, Travel advice and advisories · observed 2026-10-16 · written for CAN nationals · extracted by language model

  • Harassment, arrests and surveillance followed a protest crackdown in Herat as the Taliban tightened restrictions on smartphones.

    CIVICUS Monitor country updates · observed 2026-08-26 · extracted by language model

  • Nearly 70 percent said they practise self-censorship due to threats, surveillance, and isolation.

    CIVICUS Monitor country updates · observed 2026-06-15 · extracted by language model

  • Armed personnel confiscated employees’ phones, questioned staff for several hours, and placed staff under surveillance, according to sources cited in news reports.

    Committee to Protect Journalists, via a site scoped search · observed 2026-05-12 · extracted by language model

Report an inaccuracy (corrections need a link to the reporting, statute or research that shows it).

Speech and legal exposure

What legal risk attaches to what I have said online, or say while I am there?

94Extreme94 of 100, Extreme band, 75 to 100

good confidence9 independent sources

Why this score (17 sources)

  • Freedom House 2026 scored AFG 0 of 4 on freedom to express personal views on sensitive topics without fear of surveillance or retribution.

    Freedom House, Freedom in the World · observed 2026-01-01

  • Freedom House 2026 scored AFG 0 of 4 on free and independent media.

    Freedom House, Freedom in the World · observed 2026-01-01

  • V-Dem Digital Society Project 2025 scored AFG 1.82 of 4 on how routinely the government censors political content on social media, where higher is freer.

    V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, Digital Society Project · observed 2025-12-31

  • V-Dem Digital Society Project 2025 scored AFG 0.52 of 4 on how often people are arrested for political content they posted online, where higher is freer.

    V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, Digital Society Project · observed 2025-12-31

  • Afghanistan - Level 4: Do Not Travel

    US Department of State, Travel Advisories · observed 2026-02-20 · written for USA nationals

  • FCDO advice for Afghanistan: avoid_all_travel_to_whole_country.

    UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Foreign travel advice · observed 2026-07-30 · written for GBR nationals

  • Afghanistan: Avoid all travel

    Global Affairs Canada, Travel advice and advisories · observed 2026-10-14 · written for CAN nationals

  • Afghanistan: Reisewarnung: travel warning in force

    Auswärtiges Amt, Reise- und Sicherheitshinweise · observed 2026-08-19 · written for DEU nationals

  • Research by HRW published in October 2025 found that remaining news outlets in the country face surveillance and censorship, and journalists and other media workers are punished for any perceived criticism.

    CIVICUS Monitor country updates · observed 2025-12-02 · extracted by language model

  • “The ruling authority enforces a monolithic media policy, rejecting any news, narrative, or voice that deviates from what they deem the truth. Even personal opinions expressed on platforms like Facebook are treated as propaganda and punished accordingly,” Ahmad Quraishi, director of the exiled Afghanistan Journalists Center, told CPJ.

    Committee to Protect Journalists, via a site scoped search · observed 2025-08-13 · extracted by language model

  • Taliban intelligence reportedly warned Afghan media outlets against reporting Taliban casualties from Pakistani airstrikes, threatening “serious consequences” for violations.

    CIVICUS Monitor country updates · observed 2026-06-15 · extracted by language model

  • Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban have  decimated Afghanistan’s independent media sector and supplanted it with their own propaganda empire.

    Committee to Protect Journalists, via a site scoped search · observed 2026-05-12 · extracted by language model

  • All forms of dissent and criticism of the de facto authorities, including by journalists and activists from civil society, may result in arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention.

    Global Affairs Canada, Travel advice and advisories · observed 2026-10-16 · written for CAN nationals · extracted by language model

  • If you discuss, share or publish information critical of the de facto authorities, including on social media, you may face:

    Global Affairs Canada, Travel advice and advisories · observed 2026-10-16 · written for CAN nationals · extracted by language model

  • There have been arbitrary arrests and restrictions on journalists, and controls and crackdown on the media.

    CIVICUS Monitor country updates · observed 2026-08-26 · extracted by language model

  • Officials have detained media workers for violating the ministry’s law on the separation of workspaces for men and women, prohibitions on broadcasting women’s voices, and playing music on television and radio.

    CIVICUS Monitor country updates · observed 2025-12-02 · extracted by language model

  • Journalists in Afghanistan remain under constant threat of persecution by the Taliban, a situation which has been ongoing since the group regained power in 2021.

    Index on Censorship, via a site scoped search · observed 2024-04-09 · extracted by language model

Report an inaccuracy (corrections need a link to the reporting, statute or research that shows it).

Data jurisdiction

What happens to corporate or client data I carry into the jurisdiction?

89Extreme89 of 100, Extreme band, 75 to 100

moderate confidence1 independent source

Why this score (1 source)

Report an inaccuracy (corrections need a link to the reporting, statute or research that shows it).

Connectivity continuity

How likely am I to lose access to the internet, or to the specific tools I depend on?

85Extreme85 of 100, Extreme band, 75 to 100

good confidence10 independent sources

Why this score (54 sources)

Report an inaccuracy (corrections need a link to the reporting, statute or research that shows it).

1 excluded source
  • Committee to Protect Journalists, via a site scoped search, observed 2024-09-23: aged out after 2 years.

Border device risk

How likely is my device to be searched, imaged, or seized at the border, and can I be compelled to unlock it?

84Extreme84 of 100, Extreme band, 75 to 100

good confidence5 independent sources

No reports were found of devices being searched, imaged or seized at this border, or of travellers being compelled to unlock them. The score below is drawn from general indicators for this country rather than from anything observed about this risk, so it describes an absence of reports rather than evidence that the risk is absent.

What the score rests on (5 indirect sources)

Report an inaccuracy (corrections need a link to the reporting, statute or research that shows it).

Encryption and VPN legality

Are VPNs and strong encryption lawful, and can I be required to install an application or hand over keys?

73High73 of 100, High band, 50 to 74

moderate confidence1 independent source

No law or enforcement action was found restricting the use of a VPN or strong encryption here. The score below is drawn from general indicators for this country rather than from anything observed about this risk, so it describes an absence of reports rather than evidence that the risk is absent.

What the score rests on (1 indirect source)

  • V-Dem Digital Society Project 2025 scored AFG 0.92 of 4 on whether the government regulates the internet in a way consistent with international human rights standards, where higher is freer. This does not establish whether encryption or VPN use is lawful. It measures internet regulation in general, and is used as indirect evidence because the only survey that reads encryption law directly was published in 2019.

    V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, Digital Society Project · observed 2025-12-31

Report an inaccuracy (corrections need a link to the reporting, statute or research that shows it).

Network threat

How hostile is the network environment to a foreign visitor, from state actors and criminals alike?

43Caution43 of 100, Caution band, 25 to 49

moderate confidence1 independent sourceEvidence is ageing: contributing sources are weighted at 66% of full strength.

No reports were found of attacks, interception or fraud aimed at visitors using networks here. The score below is drawn from general indicators for this country rather than from anything observed about this risk, so it describes an absence of reports rather than evidence that the risk is absent.

What the score rests on (1 indirect source)

Report an inaccuracy (corrections need a link to the reporting, statute or research that shows it).

Trend

02550751002026-08-162026-10-16

The overall score is up 2.9 points over 61 days, from 81.1 to 84. Most movement is the event overlay decaying rather than anything happening: a news signal loses half its weight every three weeks, so a score drifts back toward its structural baseline on its own. A step that holds is the one worth reading.

Check this yourself

These are not inputs to the score for Afghanistan. They are where to look if you want to test what is above against something we did not use.

Sources

This assessment draws on 14 sources: Auswärtiges Amt, Reise- und Sicherheitshinweise; CIVICUS Monitor country updates; Committee to Protect Journalists, via a site scoped search; Freedom House, Freedom in the World; Georgia Tech Internet Intelligence Lab, Internet Outage Detection and Analysis; Global Affairs Canada, Travel advice and advisories; Index on Censorship, via a site scoped search; International Telecommunication Union, Global Cybersecurity Index; Open Observatory of Network Interference, OONI measurement data; Schneier on Security feed; UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Foreign travel advice; US Department of State, Travel Advisories; V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, Digital Society Project; World Justice Project, Rule of Law Index, sub-factor 4.6. Every contributing claim is quoted with its origin and date above. Model version 0.12.0, computed 2026-10-16.

If something here is wrong, say so. Corrections are handled in public, and we correct because the evidence is wrong, not because someone objects.