Safest Countries in Africa to Visit Right Now

How the Advisory Ranking Computes Country Safety

This ranking sorts African nations using published travel warnings from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada rather than crime statistics. The ranking sorts by the US level first, then by the UK FCDO warning, then by Canada advice.

A country sitting near the top of the table has minimal government warnings across all three assessing bodies. For a detailed breakdown of how each assessment feeds into our system, read how we rate safety.

Leading African Destinations with the Clearest Advisories

At the time of writing, Seychelles and Zambia hold the top two spots in Africa because neither nation carries regional travel warnings from the UK FCDO, and Canada recommends normal security precautions for both. The United States State Department maintains its baseline advisory for Seychelles and Zambia.

Cabo Verde and Senegal occupy the next positions on the board. The UK FCDO advises against no areas in either country, and the United States places both at its lowest advisory baseline. The United States advisory outlines conditions directly for Cabo Verde and Senegal, while Canada asks visitors to exercise a high degree of caution.

You can confirm United States notices directly for Mauritius and Sao Tome and Principe.

Mid-Table Countries with No UK Warning Areas

A large cluster of African destinations sits in the middle tiers where foreign offices recommend general vigilance without advising against travel. Botswana, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Gabon, The Gambia, Guinea, and Lesotho all share this profile. The UK FCDO advises against no part of these eight countries, and Canada advises a high degree of caution for all of them.

United States advisories document travel guidance for Botswana, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Gabon, The Gambia, Guinea, and Lesotho.

Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Namibia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Zimbabwe also sit together in this group. Canada advises a high degree of caution for all eight, and the UK FCDO advises against no part of any of them at the time of writing.

Well-Known Countries with Regional UK Warnings

Destinations can rank lower when foreign ministries issue regional warnings for parts of the country. Kenya sits at position 31 because the UK FCDO warns against travel to parts of the country. Rwanda and Tanzania sit lower, at 38 and 39, because the US advisory for both is one step stricter than Kenya, and the UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of each. Canada advises normal security precautions for Rwanda and a high degree of caution for Tanzania.

Egypt has the same UK FCDO pattern as Kenya: some areas under a warning against all travel and others under a warning against all but essential travel. Morocco has no UK FCDO warning areas and sits higher, at position 18. Canada recommends exercising a high degree of caution across all three.

Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Ghana, Mozambique, Republic of Congo, and Togo face comparable penalties in the ranking. Each of these nations maintains areas where the UK FCDO advises against all travel or all but essential travel, pulling their placement below countries with clean regional maps.

Severe Advisory Levels and Whole-Country Warnings

Multiple African nations face substantial travel warnings that place them near the bottom of the table. At the base of the ranking, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and South Sudan carry UK FCDO warnings against all travel to the entire country, paired with Canadian directives to avoid all travel.

Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan also receive Canadian instructions to avoid all travel, with the UK FCDO advising against all travel to parts of their territory. You can review broader global patterns on our index of most dangerous countries.

Countries like Uganda, Chad, Burundi, Ethiopia, Mauritania, and Nigeria carry elevated alerts from multiple governments. For Uganda, the US State Department issues its strictest warning and Canada advises avoiding non-essential travel, while the UK FCDO advises against no areas. Ethiopia and Nigeria face UK FCDO warnings against both all travel and all but essential travel in designated sectors, while Canada advises avoiding non-essential travel nationwide.

Planning African Travel Using Multi-Government Warnings

A country’s rank tells you how strict its advisories are, and the regional warnings tell you which parts of it they cover.

Before you book, compare destinations side by side. Review our latest advisory changes to see if advisories adjusted a nation’s status overnight.

Download our free travel safety checklist before you leave.

Who This Advisory Ranking Serves and What Alters It

This ranking does not serve a traveler who needs crime figures for one city, because it sorts countries by government advisories and not by crime statistics. If your trip crosses a region the UK FCDO warns about, read that country’s full advisory before you book.

Our assessment order would shift immediately if the UK FCDO added regional alerts to island nations, or if Canada lowered caution levels across countries like Botswana and Namibia. Until the advisories change, start with the countries at the top of the ranked table above.