180 countries ranked by safety, peace, freedom and LGBT+ equality
Visiting: Not RecommendedLGBT+ visiting: Not Recommended
Asmara might be the most surprising capital in Africa — a whole UNESCO-listed streetscape of 1930s Italian Art Deco, with untouched reefs offshore and a vintage steam train winding down from the highlands. But Eritrea is one of the most closed countries on earth: you'll need permits just to leave the capital, the safety data is poor, and homosexuality is illegal. Most travellers should wait; LGBT+ travellers shouldn't go at all.
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Eritrea: 10.4
Ranked 30th in the world for the highest homicide rate.
An estimated 10.43 homicides per 100,000 people — a high rate by any standard. The 2021 estimate is the freshest figure that exists.
Higher than 80% of the 230 countries and territories measured.
How peaceful the country is — lower is better.
Eritrea: 2.5
Ranked 32nd least peaceful country in the world.
More peaceful than 19% of the 163 countries ranked, scoring 2.542.
Barely moved — up one place since 2024.
Personal and economic freedom — higher is better.
Eritrea: 2.6
Ranked 2nd least free country in the world.
The Human Freedom Index needs economic data Eritrea doesn't publish, so this 2.56 is our own estimate — built with the index's published method: the same 12 categories of personal and economic freedom, equally weighted.
Day-to-day life (speech, movement, religion) scores 2.32; doing business and owning property, 2.91. Scored from the index's own underlying sources — V-Dem, Freedom House, UNODC, CPJ and World Bank data. That lands below Syria, the lowest-scoring country the official index measures.
LGBT+ equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Eritrea: Illegal
Ranked 55th least equal in the world for LGBT+ people.
Homosexuality is criminalised here, with a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment.
No public-opinion data is available for this country.