🇬🇲 Republic of The Gambia
Visiting: Take careLGBT visiting: Dangerous
There are real risks in the Gambia. Same-sex relationships are criminalised, with penalties up to life imprisonment, which places it 162nd for LGBT rights, so LGBT travellers should weigh this carefully. Its best measures are only mid-range: freedom is only partly protected, ranking 98th, and there is some exposure to conflict, at 103rd. Violent crime is common, ranking 133rd, and the roads are hazardous, at 151st.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
The Gambia: 8.0
Ranked 48th in the world for the highest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
Eight 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. A third above the world average. The Gambia publishes no count, so we used the WHO's estimate.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
The Gambia: 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. The rate runs half as high again as 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.
The Gambia: 1.95
Ranked 78th most conflict-affected country in the world.
Why this rank?
No conflict death is recorded in the Gambia in the year to July 2026. The last was in January 2024, inside the last five years.
Is it safe to visit?
Reasonable. Nothing is recorded since January 2024, and nothing armed reaches a visitor anywhere in the country.
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 Gambia: 5.93
Ranked 83rd least free country in the world.
Why this rank?
In the Gambia all six freedoms are rated 2. Total 12 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
Much freer since the change of government in 2017. Journalists and civil society still face some pressure, and every freedom is rated with significant limits, but daily life is open.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
The Gambia: Life
Ranked 19th least equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
Same-sex acts are a colonial-era offence, and since 2014 aggravated homosexuality has carried life imprisonment on top. Red by law.
Is it safe to visit?
Not safe to be open. The terror of the former president's rule softened after 2017 and arrests stopped, but the laws stayed and so did the fear.
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 Gambia: 6.85
Ranked 73rd least safe country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
The courts rate well and no attacks on women are recorded. Only 39 percent of women feel safe out alone at night, and 57 percent think wife-beating can be justified.
Is it safe to visit?
A woman travelling alone should take care in the Gambia.