🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina)
Visiting: Reasonable
Bosnia and Herzegovina is safe with caveats. There is no conflict at all, ranking 1st, and violent crime is rare, the 39th-lowest homicide rate. The one area that slips, though, is the roads, where deaths are moderate, placed 102nd. Women's safety is good, LGBT rights are solid and freedom is only partly protected, all ranking between 58th and 74th.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 1.0
Ranked 39th in the world for the lowest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
One killing per 100,000 people a year is exactly on the line that marks the safest countries.
Is it safe to visit?
Go without a second thought. Strangers are almost never involved.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 13.7
Ranked 79th in the world for the deadliest roads.
Why this rank?
Nearly fourteen deaths per 100,000 people a year is just below the world average of fifteen.
Is it safe to visit?
Reasonable. Below the world average, though a quarter of those who die are on foot.
Conflict — world number one
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.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 1.00
Ranked 1st least conflict-affected country in the world.
Why this rank?
Nothing on record. The Uppsala conflict database has never recorded a conflict death in Bosnia & Herzegovina since its records began in 1989.
Is it safe to visit?
Safe. The war ended in 1995 and the peace has held for thirty years. The politics are deadlocked and tense, but there is no violence.
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.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 6.56
Ranked 74th freest country in the world.
Why this rank?
In Bosnia & Herzegovina the lowest are press and due process at 2. Total 16 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
A decentralised republic gridlocked among nationalist parties. Press and due process carry significant limits and corruption is serious, but daily life is open for a visitor.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 5.1
Ranked 60th most equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
Same-sex acts are legal and anti-discrimination law exists, but there is no partnership recognition in a divided state. The law index sits at 65 and public opinion at 38.
Is it safe to visit?
Fine, with discretion. Sarajevo Pride has marched since 2019 behind serious police protection, brave and growing.
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.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 7.85
Ranked 58th safest country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
Violence at home is rare, and almost nobody says a husband can be justified in beating his wife. The courts, rated below fair for women, pull it down, with 62 percent feeling safe at night.
Is it safe to visit?
For a woman travelling alone, Bosnia & Herzegovina is a reasonable choice.