🇧🇮 Republic of Burundi (Uburundi)
Visiting: Risky
Approach Burundi with caution. Same-sex relationships are criminalised, which places it 122nd for LGBT rights, so LGBT travellers should weigh this carefully. Beyond that, road deaths are moderate, ranking 88th, though violent crime is common, at 125th. Its weakest measure is women's safety, which is among the very worst, placed 169th.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Burundi: 6.5
Ranked 56th in the world for the highest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
Six and a half killings per 100,000 people a year is a touch above the world average, which is where the risky tier begins.
Is it safe to visit?
Take it seriously. The rate is above the world average, and old — Burundi last counted in 2016, so we used the WHO's 2021 estimate.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
Burundi: 12.3
Ranked 88th in the world for the safest roads.
Why this rank?
Twelve 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, and better than most of the region.
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.
Burundi: 2.83
Ranked 39th most conflict-affected country in the world.
Why this rank?
33 people died in fighting inside Burundi in the year to July 2026, 31 of them civilians killed on purpose.
Is it safe to visit?
Take it seriously. Thirty-one of the 33 conflict deaths in the year to July 2026 were civilians killed by the security forces, in Bujumbura, Gitega and the north, not fighting on a front line.
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.
Burundi: 2.31
Ranked 26th least free country in the world.
Why this rank?
In Burundi due process is rated 0, meaning absent, so the courts offer no protection if anything goes wrong. Total 4 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
Courts offer no protection. Since 2015 the ruling party has met perceived opponents with violent repression, and a visitor caught up in any incident has no fair process to rely on.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Burundi: Illegal
Ranked 59th least equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
Same-sex acts have carried up to two years in prison since 2009, and the president has publicly called for gay people to be stoned. Any criminal law is red.
Is it safe to visit?
Not safe. One of the region's most hostile climates, with arrests and denunciations. Nothing is visible and nothing should be.
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.
Burundi: 3.94
Ranked 12th least safe country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
Attacks on women were recorded throughout 2024, the courts are rated near the bottom for women, and partner violence is 22 percent.
Is it safe to visit?
Burundi is high risk for a woman travelling alone.