Is Bissau safe?
Guinea-Bissau · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04
Bissau is a city in Guinea-Bissau, home to about 613k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 2,208 of 6,168, with a safety score of 75.6 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.
Emergency Ambulance 1313 · Fire 1313 · Police 117
- US State Department: Reconsider travelOfficial travel advisory level 3 of 4 for Guinea-Bissau, updated 2025-12-10.
No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for Guinea-Bissau are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.
How safe is Bissau really?
No published homicide figure exists for Bissau itself, so the national rate stands in: Guinea-Bissau recorded 1.1 homicides per 100,000 people in 2017 - well below the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Guinea-Bissau's income inequality is middling (Gini 33.4) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Guinea-Bissau at level 3 of 4 - "Reconsider travel" (updated 2025-12-10). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Guinea-Bissau without any avoid-travel warning in force. Both advisories are country-level: no official source publishes verified neighborhood-level crime guidance for individual cities, which is why this page reports named areas only where an official source names them.
What to watch out for in Guinea-Bissau
Terrorism in Guinea-Bissau · Political situation · Crime · Landmines · Personal ID · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · LGBT+ travellers · Money · Road travel · Road conditions
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Guinea-Bissau — country-level, not specific to Bissau. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 1.1 /100knational rate, 2017
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 33.4country, 2021
- Human development
- HDI 0.514country, 2023
- Income
- $3,320/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 613kurban centre · 7,293/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 32.2 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 55/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 36/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 21/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 4.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.51Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 32.3 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 24%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.3 doctors /1k1.0 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 110 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Guinea-Bissau
- Flood
- 2.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 1.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Guinea-Bissau as a whole, not Bissau specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Guinea-Bissau (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Guinea-Bissau; none of them affect the safety score.
How the score works
One fixed, calibrated mix for every city: 40% homicide · 25% peace · 25% equality · 10% HDI. Homicide and conflict deaths are measured outcomes; income inequality carries the structural share because it predicts real city violence far better than national income (which is shown above but scored at zero). Each factor maps to 0-100 against fixed anchors, missing data drops out and is never estimated, and cities with data behind less than half the weighting get “no data” instead of a score. For Bissau that gives 75.6/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Bissau compared with Serrekunda
| Measure | Bissau | Serrekunda | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 75.6 | 71.5 | +4.1 — better for Bissau |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 1.1 /100k | no data | — |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 1 | −1 — better for Bissau |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 33.4 | 38.8 | −5.4 — better for Bissau |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.514 | 0.524 | −0.010 — better for Serrekunda |
| Road deaths | 32.2 /100k | 29.6 /100k | +2.6 /100k — better for Serrekunda |
| Rule of law | 36/100 | 50/100 | −14/100 — better for Serrekunda |
| Corruption perceptions | 21/100 | 37/100 | −16/100 — better for Serrekunda |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 32.3 µg/m³ | 38.3 µg/m³ | −6.0 µg/m³ — better for Bissau |
| Natural-hazard risk | 4.2/10 | 4.2/10 | ±0.0/10 |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Country-level rows describe the two countries, not the cities themselves. Full report for Serrekunda →
Nearby cities
- Ziguinchor, Senegal 74.0
- Kolda, Senegal 77.2
- Kamsar, Guinea 82.8
- Brikama, Gambia 71.5
- Serrekunda, Gambia 71.5
- Kaolack, Senegal 77.2
- Tambacounda, Senegal 77.2
- Diourbel, Senegal 77.2
See Bissau on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Africa → · Full travel briefings →