🇧🇸 Commonwealth of The Bahamas
Visiting: Dangerous
There are caveats, but the Bahamas is generally safe. Violent crime is the defining risk: homicide ranks 169th, one of the highest rates in the world. Even so, there is no conflict at all, ranking 1st, and freedom is well protected, at 37th. Women's safety is fair, ranking 65th, and LGBT rights are limited, at 100th.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
The Bahamas: 20.7
Ranked 12th in the world for the highest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
Twenty-one killings per 100,000 people a year is twice the ten that marks the deadliest countries.
Is it safe to visit?
A real risk for a visitor. The rate is very high — three and a half times the world average — and in the last breakdown three in ten killings were by strangers.
Why we updated the score?
The police have published their 2025 murder count, and it came down a lot. The UN takes its figure from the police a year later, so we've used the new count.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
The Bahamas: 16.2
Ranked 65th in the world for the deadliest roads.
Why this rank?
Sixteen deaths per 100,000 people a year is just above the world average of fifteen.
Is it safe to visit?
Not safe. Above the world average, and a quarter of the deaths are people on foot.
Conflict — world number one
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.
The Bahamas: 1.00
Ranked 1st least conflict-affected country in the world.
Why this rank?
Nothing on record. The Uppsala conflict database has never recorded a conflict death in the Bahamas since its records began in 1989.
Is it safe to visit?
Nothing to think about. Nothing has ever come near 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.
The Bahamas: 8.39
Ranked 37th freest country in the world.
Why this rank?
In the Bahamas the lowest are press, movement and due process at 3. Total 21 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
A stable democracy where political rights and civil liberties are generally respected. Press, movement and due process are one step from the top, with corruption in law enforcement a concern.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
The Bahamas: 3.1
Ranked 81st least equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
Same-sex acts have been legal since 1991, with an unequal age of consent and no protections. The law index sits at 45 and public opinion at 16.
Is it safe to visit?
Reasonable, with discretion. Church-led conservatism keeps acceptance low and life 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.
The Bahamas: 7.74
Ranked 65th safest country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
The index surveys nothing here directly, so every input is its regional estimate. Those estimates put the courts at fair and partner violence at six percent.
Is it safe to visit?
A woman travelling alone will find the Bahamas reasonable.