Is Biu safe?
Nigeria · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04
Biu is a city in Nigeria, home to about 221k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,837 of 6,168, with a safety score of 39.7 out of 100 - in the lower part of the ranking, and the numbers below explain why.
Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police)
- Armed conflict nearbyUCDP recorded 650 deaths from organized violence within 100 km in 2022-2024 (116 events). Crime figures do not capture war risk.
- US State Department: Reconsider travelOfficial travel advisory level 3 of 4 for Nigeria, updated 2026-06-11.
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country26 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
- Elevated homicide rate15.75 homicides per 100,000 per year (national rate), about 6× the global city median.
- Same-sex activity criminalized - death penalty in lawLaw on the books in Nigeria as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.
Deadliest recorded locations nearby
- Kaffa40 deaths · 1 event
- kuwa Nguro and Ngoldiri village located in the axis of Timbuktu triangle in Damboa, Borno State40 deaths · 1 event
- Shettima Abor, Tchiku, and Chillaria. All Damboa LGA, Borno State24 deaths · 2 events
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Biu, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- North East Nigeria
- North West Nigeria
- North Central Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, including Abuja
- South East and South South Nigeria
- Borno State
- Yobe State
- Adamawa State
- Gombe State
- Bauchi State
- Katsina State
- Zamfara State
- Kaduna State
- Kano State
- Kebbi State
- Jigawa State
- Sokoto State
- Niger State
- Kogi State
- Plateau State
- Taraba State
- Kwara State
- Benue State
- Abia State
- non-riverine areas of Delta, Bayelsa, and Rivers States
- Anambra State
- Imo State
Named in the official UK travel advice for Nigeria (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Biu.
How safe is Biu really?
No published homicide figure exists for Biu itself, so the national rate stands in: Nigeria recorded 16 homicides per 100,000 people in 2023 - roughly 6 times the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Nigeria's income inequality is middling (Gini 33.9) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.
Crime statistics are not the main story here: the Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 650 deaths from organized violence - war, armed conflict, militia or cartel fighting - within 100 km of Biu across 116 events in 2022-2024. That is active-conflict territory, and ordinary crime figures say nothing about it. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Kaffa (40 deaths), kuwa Nguro and Ngoldiri village located in the axis of Timbuktu triangle in Damboa, Borno State (40 deaths), Shettima Abor, Tchiku, and Chillaria. All Damboa LGA, Borno State (24 deaths).
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Nigeria at level 3 of 4 - "Reconsider travel" (updated 2026-06-11). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of this country, naming 26 specific areas - listed above with the official advisory linked for exact boundaries and exceptions. 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 Nigeria
Terrorism in Nigeria · Terrorist kidnap · Political situation · Curfews and communication blackouts · Street and vehicle crime · Withdrawing and exchanging money · Financial scams · Surrogacy and fertility treatment · Overseas Adoption · Kidnapping for ransom · Methanol poisoning · Using a mobile · Ramadan · Illegal drugs · +8 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Nigeria — country-level, not specific to Biu. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 16 /100knational rate, 2023 · ~6× the global city median
- Conflict deaths
- 650within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 33.9country, 2022
- Human development
- HDI 0.560country, 2023
- Income
- $9,230/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 221kurban centre · 8,828/km²
- Nearest airport
- 145 kmGombe Lawanti International Airport (GMO)
Straight-line distance from the city centre, not drive time. Scheduled-service airports only (OurAirports).
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 20.7 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 32/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 40/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 26/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 7.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.49Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 65.7 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 30%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.4 doctors /1k0.5 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 294 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Nigeria
- Flood
- 8.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 3.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Nigeria as a whole, not Biu specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Nigeria, with the death penalty applying in law (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.
All country-level figures shared by every city in Nigeria; 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 Biu that gives 39.7/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Biu compared with Gombi
| Measure | Biu | Gombi | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 39.7 | 41.7 | −2.0 — better for Gombi |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 16 /100k | 16 /100k | ±0.0 /100k |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 650 | 305 | +345 — better for Gombi |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Nigeria, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Gombi →
Nearby cities
See Biu on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Africa → · Full travel briefings →