Regarding insecure or unsafe server locations

[Gabi 1]

Hello,

I thought about starting this - at least for me - interesting topic about insecure or unsafe countries to run a VPN server from.

I already figured out that most VPN providers aren't trustworthy at all and if you dig further into it, you will end up with AirVPN, IVPN and Mullvad. Maybe even Proton or Windscribe. Tracking free, open source providers without an affiliate program. One thing you will quickly notice: The first three only offer servers in a very little amount of countries, which obviously has a security purpose. Now my question is:

Is there a list of unsafe countries to run a VPN server from?  Or do you know certain countries it is simply not possible to safely run a VPN server from? And could you clarify why?
This question is by the way for everyone. That is why I'm posting it here.

I do know Proton is using virtual servers to mock the actual server location. But they indeed have servers in Russia for example. There is another provider who often is praised as "fan favorite" in "the scene" named Perfect Privacy. They also have  a very small share of servers, but they indeed do have a sever in China. I also heard bad things about Australia.

So, I naturally wonder why there are some countries where you hardly will find a VPN provider running servers from that are actually located there. I can understand you won't find a good data center in most African countries and I also can imagine that Russian or Chinese authorities would be very interested in your servers once they are placed there. So I do wonder if running a sever from there comes with some "conditions". I also wonder why - for example - Lithuania seems so unpopular to run a sever from? After all, the other Baltic countries Estonia and Latvia are very well represented with most providers.

Maybe someone can provide some more details about this topic.

Edit: I might have posted this in the wrong sub-board. Maybe someone can move it to the right place.

Edited 08/14/2023 by Gabi