🇪🇹 Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (ኢትዮጵያ)
Visiting: Dangerous
Ethiopia carries serious safety risks. Same-sex relationships are criminalised, which places it 122nd for LGBT rights, so LGBT travellers should weigh this carefully. Conflict is the main concern: it ranks 175th, in the bottom twenty, and freedom is close to absent, placed 169th. Beyond that, women's safety is fair, ranking 120th, though violent crime is common, at 126th.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Ethiopia: 6.7
Ranked 55th in the world for the highest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
Nearly seven killings per 100,000 people a year is above the world average, which is where the risky tier begins.
Is it safe to visit?
Take care. The rate is above the world average, and old — Ethiopia hasn't counted since 2012, so we used the WHO's estimate.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
Ethiopia: 17.7
Ranked 53rd in the world for the deadliest roads.
Why this rank?
Nearly eighteen deaths per 100,000 people a year is above the world average of fifteen, though well short of double it.
Is it safe to visit?
Not safe, in a car or on foot. More than a third of the deaths are people walking.
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.
Ethiopia: 4.76
Ranked 6th most conflict-affected country in the world.
Why this rank?
5,085 people died in fighting inside Ethiopia in the year to July 2026, 471 of them civilians killed on purpose.
Is it safe to visit?
Not safe across Amhara and much of Oromia, where insurgencies run and main roads are cut. Addis Ababa and the south sit apart from 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.
Ethiopia: 0.30
Ranked 12th least free country in the world.
Why this rank?
In Ethiopia due process and movement are rated 0, meaning absent, so the courts offer no protection and movement is controlled. Total 3 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
Armed conflicts in Amhara, Oromia and Tigray have displaced many, and abuses by security forces and due process violations are common. Courts offer no protection and movement is rated absent.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Ethiopia: Illegal
Ranked 59th least equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
Same-sex acts are criminal under the 2004 code and punished with imprisonment. Any criminal law is red.
Is it safe to visit?
Not safe. Hostility is intense and rising, with periodic moral panics and calls for crackdowns. Everything happens in deep secrecy.
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.
Ethiopia: 6.66
Ranked 61st least safe country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
Half of women feel safe out alone at night and the courts rate below fair. Partner violence in the past year hits more than one woman in four.
Is it safe to visit?
A woman travelling alone should take care in Ethiopia.