Is Gaya safe?
Niger · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04
Gaya is a city in Niger, home to about 150k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,000 of 6,168, with a safety score of 53.3 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.
Emergency Ambulance 15 · Fire 18 · Police 17
- 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
- not far from the Mekrou River in W National Park12 deaths · 1 event
- W National Park near border with Niger and Burkina Faso9 deaths · 2 events
- Karimama commune, Bogo-Bogo district8 deaths · 1 event
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Gaya, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.
How safe is Gaya really?
No published homicide figure exists for Gaya 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.
Gaya also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 82 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 29 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were not far from the Mekrou River in W National Park (12 deaths), W National Park near border with Niger and Burkina Faso (9 deaths), Karimama commune, Bogo-Bogo district (8 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 Gaya. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 4.4 /100knational rate, 2012
- Conflict deaths
- 82within 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
- 150kurban centre · 8,314/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 Gaya 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
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 Gaya that gives 53.3/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Gaya compared with Malanville
| Measure | Gaya | Malanville | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 53.3 | 58.6 | −5.3 — better for Malanville |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 4.4 /100k | no data | — |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 82 | 82 | ±0 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 32.9 | 34.4 | −1.5 — better for Gaya |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.419 | 0.515 | −0.096 — better for Malanville |
| Road deaths | 25.5 /100k | 26.8 /100k | −1.3 /100k — better for Gaya |
| Rule of law | 41/100 | 50/100 | −9/100 — better for Malanville |
| Corruption perceptions | 31/100 | 45/100 | −14/100 — better for Malanville |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 65.2 µg/m³ | 39.7 µg/m³ | +25.5 µg/m³ — better for Malanville |
| Natural-hazard risk | 7.8/10 | 6.1/10 | +1.7/10 — better for Malanville |
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 Malanville →
Nearby cities
- Malanville, Benin 58.6
- Kandi, Benin 60.6
- Birnin Kebbi, Nigeria 49.7
- Jega, Nigeria 51.0
- Koko, Nigeria 55.4
- Dosso 55.2
- Argungu, Nigeria 52.0
- Gummi, Nigeria 55.4
See Gaya on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Africa → · Full travel briefings →