Diffa scores 46 out of 100 (moderate safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 5484 of 6168 cities worldwide. The score combines the homicide rate, nearby conflict deaths, income equality and human development from published data (UNODC, UCDP, World Bank, UNDP).

Is Diffa safe?

Niger · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04

45.7Moderate · rank 5484 / 6,168
safer than 11% of ranked cities

Diffa is a city in Niger, home to about 116k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,484 of 6,168, with a safety score of 45.7 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.

US 4/4 Do not travel UK FCDO advises against all travel to this country

Emergency Ambulance 15 · Fire 18 · Police 17

Armed conflict nearbyUCDP recorded 1,357 deaths from organized violence within 100 km in 2022-2024 (177 events). Crime figures do not capture war risk.
US State Department: Do not travelOfficial travel advisory level 4 of 4 for Niger, updated 2025-10-30.
UK FCDO advises against all travel to this countryOfficial UK government travel advice, updated 2026-08-29.

Deadliest recorded locations nearby

BULABULIN along KOMADUGU-YOBE RIVER near Geidam in Yobe State101 deaths · 1 event
Island of Toumbun Gini in Abadam Local Government Area (LGA)101 deaths · 1 event
Yauma Wango and Ngaama, in Abadam local government area (LGA) of Borno State45 deaths · 2 events

UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Diffa, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.

How safe is Diffa really?

No published homicide figure exists for Diffa itself, so the national rate stands in: Niger recorded 4.4 homicides per 100,000 people in 2012 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Niger's income inequality is middling (Gini 32.9) - 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 1,357 deaths from organized violence - war, armed conflict, militia or cartel fighting - within 100 km of Diffa across 177 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 BULABULIN along KOMADUGU-YOBE RIVER near Geidam in Yobe State (101 deaths), Island of Toumbun Gini in Abadam Local Government Area (LGA) (101 deaths), Yauma Wango and Ngaama, in Abadam local government area (LGA) of Borno State (45 deaths).

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates Niger at level 4 of 4 - "Do not travel" (updated 2025-10-30). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to this country. 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 Niger

Terrorism in Niger · Terrorist kidnap · Security situation in Niger · Political situation · Criminal kidnapping · Scams · Personal ID · Ramadan · Using cameras in secure areas · LGBT+ travellers · Road travel · Road safety · Public transport · Air travel · +1 more

Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Niger — country-level, not specific to Diffa. Read what each one says →

The numbers

Homicide rate: 4.4 /100knational rate, 2012
Conflict deaths: 1,357within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 32.9country, 2021
Human development: HDI 0.419country, 2023
Income: $2,150/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 116kurban centre · 6,458/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 25.5 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 36/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 41/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 31/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 7.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.49Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 65.2 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: no dataof the population · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 0.0 doctors /1k0.3 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria: 305 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in Niger

Flood: 6.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 5.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Niger as a whole, not Diffa specifically.

Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Niger (as of 2025).

All country-level figures shared by every city in Niger; none of them affect the safety score.

How the score works

Low homicide40%46

Peace25%22

Equality25%71

Development10%42

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 Diffa that gives 45.7/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Diffa compared with Maiduguri

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Diffa, red favours Maiduguri.
Measure	Diffa	Maiduguri	Difference
Safety score	45.7	36.1	+9.7 — better for Diffa
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	4.4 /100k	16 /100k	−11 /100k — better for Diffa
Conflict deaths within 100 km	1,357	2,443	−1,086 — better for Diffa
Income inequality (Gini)	32.9	33.9	−1.0 — better for Diffa
Human development (HDI)	0.419	0.560	−0.141 — better for Maiduguri
Road deaths	25.5 /100k	20.7 /100k	+4.8 /100k — better for Maiduguri
Rule of law	41/100	40/100	+1/100 — better for Diffa
Corruption perceptions	31/100	26/100	+5/100 — better for Diffa
Air quality (PM2.5)	65.2 µg/m³	65.7 µg/m³	−0.5 µg/m³ — better for Diffa
Natural-hazard risk	7.8/10	7.2/10	+0.6/10 — better for Maiduguri

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 Maiduguri →

Nearby cities

See Diffa on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Africa → · Full travel briefings →