🇨🇮 Republic of Côte d’Ivoire
Visiting: High Risk
Take care in Côte d’Ivoire: the risks are real. Its best measures are only mid-range: there is some exposure to conflict, ranking 92nd, and freedom is only partly protected, at 98th. Its weakest measure is violent crime, which is common, placed 152nd. LGBT rights are limited, women's safety is fair and the roads are hazardous, with all three ranking between 109th and 145th.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Côte d’Ivoire: 10.9
Ranked 29th in the world for the highest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
Eleven killings per 100,000 people a year is just over the ten that marks the deadliest countries, the WHO's epidemic line.
Is it safe to visit?
A real risk. Nearly twice the world average. The police publish no count, so we used the WHO's estimate.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
Côte d’Ivoire: 20.6
Ranked 36th in the world for the deadliest roads.
Why this rank?
Twenty-one deaths per 100,000 people a year is well above the world average of fifteen but short of double it.
Is it safe to visit?
Not safe on foot or on a motorbike, which is where three-quarters of the deaths are. In a car or bus a visitor is out of the worst of it.
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.
Côte d’Ivoire: 1.76
Ranked 89th most conflict-affected country in the world.
Why this rank?
No conflict death is recorded in Côte d’Ivoire in the last five years. The last one the Uppsala conflict database has was in November 2020.
Is it safe to visit?
Safe. The northern border has been quiet since 2021, and nothing reaches a visitor.
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.
Côte d’Ivoire: 5.93
Ranked 83rd least free country in the world.
Why this rank?
In Côte d’Ivoire the lowest is due process at 1. Total 12 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
Daily life is open, but 2025 saw the main opposition candidates excluded from the election and a crackdown on political expression. Courts are the weak point if anything goes wrong.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Côte d’Ivoire: 2.3
Ranked 72nd least equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
Never criminalised, one of francophone Africa's oldest legal settings, but with no protections. The law index sits at 32 and public opinion at 14.
Is it safe to visit?
Take care. Abidjan has a known scene and a fragile visibility that periodically draws harassment and media outrage.
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.
Côte d’Ivoire: 6.78
Ranked 70th least safe country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
Sixty percent of women feel safe out alone at night and the courts rate below fair. Partner violence is sixteen percent, and 43 percent of women think wife-beating can be justified.
Is it safe to visit?
Take care as a woman travelling alone in Côte d’Ivoire.