🇧🇾 Republic of Belarus (Беларусь)
Visiting: Dangerous
Belarus has real risks to weigh. Violent crime is rare and road deaths are low, both ranking 53rd. Its weak spot is freedom, which is tightly restricted, placed 160th. LGBT rights are limited, ranking 106th, women's safety is poor, at 125th, and there is significant exposure to conflict, placed 158th.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Belarus: 1.5
Ranked 53rd in the world for the lowest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
One and a half killings per 100,000 people a year is low. The safest countries sit under one, and Belarus is a shade above.
Is it safe to visit?
As far as violence goes, you're fine. Strangers are almost never involved.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
Belarus: 7.4
Ranked 53rd in the world for the safest roads.
Why this rank?
Seven deaths per 100,000 people a year is low but close to seven and a half, which is half the world average.
Is it safe to visit?
Safe by world standards.
Conflict
Conflict deaths inside the country in the last twelve months, as recorded by the Uppsala conflict database, civilians killed on purpose, and any UN sanctions or court order over a war. The worst of those sets the colour. Lower is better.
Belarus: 4.00
Ranked 23rd most conflict-affected country in the world.
Why this rank?
The UN General Assembly's resolution on the aggression against Ukraine names Belarus for its involvement, and that alone puts it in the dark red. No conflict death is recorded inside the country since 1989.
Is it safe to visit?
Fighting is not the risk here, as nothing armed is recorded inside the country. The dark red is for Belarus's part in the aggression against Ukraine, which the UN General Assembly deplored in 2022.
Freedom
Six freedoms rated 0–4 by Freedom House — protest, speech, press, religion, movement and due process. The weakest rating sets the colour, and the total places the country inside it — higher is better.
Belarus: 2.10
Ranked 21st least free country in the world.
Why this rank?
In Belarus due process is rated 0, meaning absent, so the courts offer no protection if anything goes wrong. Total 2 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
Courts offer no protection. Elections are openly rigged, dissent is harshly persecuted, more than a thousand political prisoners remain, and courts declared over two thousand books, channels and accounts extremist in 2025.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Belarus: 2.6
Ranked 75th least equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
Legal since 1994 with nothing since, no protections, and officials floating Russian-style propaganda bans. The law index sits at 35 and public opinion at 16.
Is it safe to visit?
Take care. State television mocks, police harass, and the crackdown on civil society since 2020 swept up LGBT groups with everyone else.
Women's Safety
Women's safety — feeling safe out at night, political violence against women, a fair hearing in court, and how normal violence at home is, with the night figure setting a floor on the colour — higher is better.
Belarus: 6.57
Ranked 56th least safe country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
Partner violence is six percent and attacks on women are few. The courts are rated near the bottom for women, and only 56 percent of women feel safe out alone at night.
Is it safe to visit?
A woman travelling alone should take care in Belarus.