🇬🇼 Republic of Guinea-Bissau (Guiné-Bissau)
Visiting: Dangerous
Guinea-Bissau is a place to visit with caution. Nothing ranks highly here: there is some exposure to conflict, ranking 74th, and LGBT rights are limited, at 89th. Where it lags, though, is the roads, which are among the deadliest anywhere, placed 177th. Violent crime is common, women's safety is poor and freedom is tightly restricted, all ranking between 141st and 147th.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Guinea-Bissau: 8.6
Ranked 40th in the world for the highest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
Nearly nine killings per 100,000 people a year is well above the world average, where the risky tier begins.
Is it safe to visit?
Take care. The rate is high, but contested — Guinea-Bissau's own last count, 2017, was 21 killings, while the WHO's estimate runs eight times higher. The UN carries the estimate.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
Guinea-Bissau: 30.5
Ranked 4th in the world for the deadliest roads.
Why this rank?
Thirty deaths per 100,000 people a year is just over double the world average of fifteen.
Is it safe to visit?
Among the worst in the world, twice the world average.
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.
Guinea-Bissau: 1.25
Ranked 74th least conflict-affected country in the world.
Why this rank?
Nothing in twenty-five years. The last conflict death the Uppsala conflict database records in Guinea-Bissau was in May 1999.
Is it safe to visit?
Safe. Coups recur, the latest in late 2025, but they are over in a day with barely a shot fired.
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.
Guinea-Bissau: 2.94
Ranked 34th least free country in the world.
Why this rank?
In Guinea-Bissau due process is rated 0, meaning absent, so the courts offer no protection if anything goes wrong. Total 10 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
A military coup in November 2025 suspended the constitution three days after the election. Courts offer no protection now, and foreign journalists were expelled that year. Avoid anything political.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Guinea-Bissau: 3.8
Ranked 89th most equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
Same-sex acts have been legal since independence, with no protections. Law and opinion both score around 40 out of 100, which is the middle band.
Is it safe to visit?
Reasonable, with discretion. Quietly tolerant at street level by regional standards, but there is no visible community.
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.
Guinea-Bissau: 6.17
Ranked 38th least safe country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
The courts rate poorly for women and a third of women say a husband can sometimes be justified in beating his wife.
Is it safe to visit?
A woman travelling alone should take care when visiting Guinea-Bissau.