🇳🇦 Republic of Namibia
Visiting: High Risk
Namibia has real risks to weigh. Freedom is well protected, ranking 52nd, and there is some exposure to conflict, at 76th. Where it lags is violent crime, which is common, placed 154th. LGBT rights are limited, ranking 82nd, women's safety is fair, at 111th, and the roads are hazardous, placed 151st.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Namibia: 11.2
Ranked 27th 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.
Is it safe to visit?
Take it seriously. Namibia's own 2021 count, 315 killings, is a rate nearly twice the world average.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
Namibia: 22.0
Ranked 30th in the world for the deadliest roads.
Why this rank?
Twenty-two 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. Half as high again as the world average, and a third of the deaths are people on foot.
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.
Namibia: 1.29
Ranked 76th 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 Namibia was in December 2000.
Is it safe to visit?
Safe. No fighting anywhere, and there never has been.
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.
Namibia: 7.80
Ranked 52nd freest country in the world.
Why this rank?
In Namibia 5 of the six freedoms are rated 3 and the rest higher. Total 19 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
A multiparty democracy with robust protection for civil liberties. Police brutality is reported, which is the one thing that could reach a visitor.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Namibia: 4.2
Ranked 82nd most equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
The High Court struck down the apartheid-era sodomy law in June 2024, and the courts recognise foreign same-sex marriages. The law index sits at 51, public opinion at 33.
Is it safe to visit?
Reasonable, with discretion. Parliament pushed back with anti-marriage bills, and public opinion is split down the middle.
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.
Namibia: 6.78
Ranked 70th least safe country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
The courts rate fairly. Fewer than half of women feel safe out alone at night, partner violence is sixteen percent, and attacks on women were recorded in 2024.
Is it safe to visit?
A woman travelling alone should take care when visiting Namibia.