🇩🇲 Commonwealth of Dominica
Visiting: High Risk
Visiting Dominica is safe, though not without caveats. Violent crime is the defining risk: homicide ranks 166th, one of the highest rates in the world. On the other side of the ledger, there is no conflict at all, ranking 1st, and freedom is well protected, at 37th. Women's safety is fair, road deaths are moderate and LGBT rights are limited, with all three ranking between 74th and 100th.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Dominica: 18.1
Ranked 15th in the world for the highest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
Eighteen killings per 100,000 people a year sounds worse than it is, but with 70,000 people that is a dozen cases, so one bad year moves it a whole tier.
Is it safe to visit?
Take some care. The rate is high, though it rests on twelve killings in 2024 — with 70,000 people, a couple of cases swing it.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
Dominica: 11.0
Ranked 76th in the world for the safest roads.
Why this rank?
Eleven deaths per 100,000 people a year is under the world average, though with 70,000 people that is a handful of cases.
Is it safe to visit?
Reasonable, on a handful of cases a year.
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.
Dominica: 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 Dominica since its records began in 1989.
Is it safe to visit?
Nothing to think about. Nothing has ever come near it.
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.
Dominica: 8.39
Ranked 37th freest country in the world.
Why this rank?
In Dominica the lowest are protest, press and due process at 3. Total 21 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
A parliamentary democracy governed by one party since 2000, with civil liberties generally upheld. Protest, press and due process are one step from the top.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Dominica: 3.1
Ranked 81st least equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
The High Court struck down the sodomy laws in April 2024. The law index sits at 48 but public opinion at 14, and that sets the rank.
Is it safe to visit?
Reasonable, with discretion. The newest member of the Caribbean's decriminalisation wave, and visibility remains minimal for now.
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.
Dominica: 7.51
Ranked 74th safest country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
The index does not survey Dominica, so every input is its regional estimate. Those estimates put the courts below fair and partner violence at nine percent.
Is it safe to visit?
Dominica is a reasonable choice for a woman travelling alone.