The first question on every traveller's mind is safety, and this especially applies to Africa. This is because most of the global media representations are about bad things like war, hunger, and bad political institutions.
This is why many people will ask whether Africa or a certain African country is safe to visit.
Introduction & Basis
Why Use The Global Peace Index (GPI)
Safety and security are always changing, and relative. By following the results of the Global peace index, we used a standardized set of data applied to all countries of the world.
The GPI research, therefore, gives us an unbiased set of data that is based on similar standards for every country surveyed.
While the Global Peace Index rankings are the best piece of data available, it has its shortcomings too, especially when you consider that safety and peacefulness can be further broken down into regions of a country, or even sections of a single metropolitan area.
If you are interested in a particular country, you should dig further because we'll try to keep the descriptions short enough to highlight the attractions and general state of safety.
Summary Of Safest Countries In Africa According To GPI 2022
1. Mauritius | 18. Tanzania | 35. Zimbabwe |
2. Ghana | 19. Eswatini | 36. Burundi |
3. The Gambia | 20. Lesotho | 37. Eritrea |
4. Botswana | 21. Togo | 38. Chad |
5. Sierra Leone | 22. Benin | 39. Niger |
6. Zambia | 23. Cote d'Ivoire | 40. Cameroon |
7. Equatorial Guinea | 24. Algeria | 41. Nigeria |
8. Malawi | 25. Guinea-Bissau | 42. Burkina Faso |
9. Namibia | 26. Republic of the Congo | 43. Ethiopia |
10. Senegal | 27. Mauritania | 44. Mali |
11. Rwanda | 28. Djibouti | 45. Libya |
12. Morocco | 29. South Africa | 46. Sudan |
13. Gabon | 30. Kenya | 47. Central African Republic |
14. Liberia | 31. Uganda | 48. Somalia |
15. Angola | 32. Mozambique | 49. D.R Congo |
16. Madagascar | 33. Guinea | 50. South Sudan |
17. Tunisia | 34. Egypt |
According to the GPI data;
- The safest country in Africa is Mauritius. Followed by Ghana, The Gambia, and Botswana.
- The least safe African country is South Sudan, just behind D.R. Congo and Somalia.
Important Reminder: We have to state that safety and security are situations that are often changing and can get extremely specific (and localized).
With that in mind, your specific interests and goals for travel should be a big factor in your decision.
Safety Ranking Criteria
The method of determining a country's peacefulness is based on scores from 23 indicators. Here are a few of the factors.
- Level of violent crime
- impact of terrorism
- political instability
- number of refugees and displaced persons as a percentage of the population
- relations with neighboring countries
- level of perceived criminality in society
The ranking indicators determine whether it is safe for people to live and work peacefully in any given country but rating the above indicators, and more.