Is Dondo safe?
Mozambique · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04
Dondo is a city in Mozambique, home to about 106k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,337 of 6,168, with a safety score of 48.5 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.
Emergency Ambulance 848888 or 823388 · Fire 198 · Police 112
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country3 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
- High income inequalityGini 49.6 puts Mozambique in the most unequal quarter of countries - the strongest structural predictor of city violence in this dataset (street crime and robbery tend to track it).
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- Cabo Delgado Province
- Nampula Province
- Niassa Province
Named in the official UK travel advice for Mozambique (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Dondo.
How safe is Dondo really?
No published homicide figure exists for Dondo itself, so the national rate stands in: Mozambique recorded 3.6 homicides per 100,000 people in 2011 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. That matters because income inequality is the strongest structural predictor of city violence in this dataset, and Mozambique's Gini of 49.6 puts it in the most unequal quarter of countries - conditions under which street crime and robbery tend to be a real concern.
Dondo also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 35 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 5 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss.
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Mozambique at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2025-06-15). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of this country, naming 3 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 Mozambique
Terrorism in Mozambique · Terrorist kidnap · Political situation · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Carjacking · Police harassment and corruption · Criminal kidnap · Personal ID · Alcohol laws and bans · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · Landmines · Using cameras in secure areas · LGBT+ travellers · Money · +5 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Mozambique — country-level, not specific to Dondo. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 3.6 /100knational rate, 2011
- Conflict deaths
- 35within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 49.6country, 2022
- Human development
- HDI 0.493country, 2023
- Income
- $1,540/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 106kurban centre · 3,928/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 30.0 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 36/100World 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
- 7.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.55Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 13.7 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 28%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.2 doctors /1k0.7 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 295 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Mozambique
- Drought
- 7.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 6.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 3.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 3.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Cyclone
- 2.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Mozambique as a whole, not Dondo specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Mozambique (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Mozambique; 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 Dondo that gives 48.5/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Dondo compared with Beira
| Measure | Dondo | Beira | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 48.5 | 48.5 | ±0.0 |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 3.6 /100k | 3.6 /100k | ±0.0 /100k |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 35 | 35 | ±0 |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Mozambique, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Beira →
Nearby cities
- Beira 48.5
- Chimoio 51.1
- Marromeu 53.0
- Mutare, Zimbabwe 48.8
- Catandica 58.2
- Morrumbala 58.2
- Quelimane 53.0
- Mocuba 52.0
See Dondo on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Africa → · Full travel briefings →