Primates are a highly threatened group among terrestrial vertebrates and offer valuable insights into studying extinction risk. While many species inhabit areas with low human presence, they face increasing anthropogenic pressure that can negatively affect their conservation status. Consequently, identifying easily accessible and cost-effective surrogates for anthropogenic pressure is essential for understanding and anticipating these changes. We aim to assess if relatively pristine, low-impact areas within the species' distribution range are good predictors of favourable conservation status. We tested two global level and readily available predictors, namely 1) the human footprint, a composite index integrating variables measuring the direct and indirect human pressures on the environment, including built environments, land cover, human population density, and infrastructure; and 2) a more straightforward variable, the amount of roadless areas. Because the extinction risk is also affected by life history traits, we also integrated information on body mass, home range and frugivory. We investigated the following questions: To what extent are human footprint and roadless areas reliable predictors of extinction risk, and how do they compare? A comparative phylogenetic analysis was conducted to address the questions. Our results indicate that the extent of roadless areas strongly correlates with primate extinction risk and proves to be a better indicator than the Human Footprint. Furthermore, this study reveals a positive relationship between biological and ecological traits (female body mass, frugivory) and extinction risk, which aligns with the scientific literature. Future directions include the prediction of extinction risk and the assessment of a list of priority species.