🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo (Repubilika ya Kôngo)
Visiting: Take careWomen visiting: High Risk
Take care in the Republic of the Congo: the risks are real. Road deaths are low, ranking 58th, and there is some exposure to conflict, at 94th. Where it lags is women's safety, which is poor, placed 158th. LGBT rights are limited, freedom is tightly restricted and violent crime is common, with all three ranking between 105th and 143rd.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Republic of the Congo: 9.3
Ranked 38th in the world for the highest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
Just over 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 it seriously. Half as high again as the world average. Congo-Brazzaville publishes no count, so we used the WHO's estimate.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
Republic of the Congo: 8.4
Ranked 58th in the world for the safest roads.
Why this rank?
Eight deaths per 100,000 people a year is a whisker over half the world average of fifteen.
Is it safe to visit?
Reasonable. Below the world average — lower than most of the continent.
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.
Republic of the Congo: 1.80
Ranked 87th most conflict-affected country in the world.
Why this rank?
No conflict death is recorded in the Republic of the Congo in the year to July 2026. The last was in May 2022, inside the last five years.
Is it safe to visit?
Reasonable. Nothing is recorded since May 2022, and nothing armed reaches a visitor.
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.
Republic of the Congo: 4.33
Ranked 49th least free country in the world.
Why this rank?
In the Republic of the Congo protest is rated 0, meaning absent. Due process and movement are 1 and 2, the two that reach a visitor. Total 8 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
One president for over forty years, with the opposition severely repressed. Protest is rated absent. Abuses by security forces are frequent and rarely investigated, so avoid any confrontation.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Republic of the Congo: 2.8
Ranked 76th least equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
Never criminalised for adults, with no protections or recognition. The law index sits at 40 and public opinion at 17.
Is it safe to visit?
Take care. Occasional indecency arrests and steady social pressure keep everything discreet.
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.
Republic of the Congo: 5.68
Ranked 23rd least safe country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
Fewer than half of women feel safe out alone at night and the courts rate poorly for women. Fifty-six percent think wife-beating can be justified.
Is it safe to visit?
The Republic of the Congo is high risk for a woman travelling alone.