Goma scores 33 out of 100 (low safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 6002 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 Goma safe?

DR Congo · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04

32.9Low · rank 6002 / 6,168
safer than 3% of ranked cities

Goma is a city in DR Congo, home to about 810k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 6,002 of 6,168, with a safety score of 32.9 out of 100 - in the lower part of the ranking, and the numbers below explain why.

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

Armed conflict nearbyUCDP recorded 3,008 deaths from organized violence within 100 km in 2022-2024 (594 events). Crime figures do not capture war risk.
US State Department: Do not travelOfficial travel advisory level 4 of 4 for DR Congo, updated 2026-07-14.
UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country14 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.

Deadliest recorded locations nearby

Masisi territory170 deaths · 13 events
a few kilometres north of Sake Bushanga position150 deaths · 1 event
Kishishe84 deaths · 3 events

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

Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country

Areas in Kinshasa Province
DRC-Central African Republic border
Eastern DRC
South-East DRC
Territory in Mai-Ndombe Province
Kisangani airport
The districts of N’djili and Kimbanseke in Kinshasa city south of the main access road to N’djili airport, in Nsele commune
The N1 road in Kinshasa Province, between and including Menkao to the west, Kenge to the east, the border of Mai-Ndombe province to the north, and 10km to the south
Haut-Uélé and Ituri, including the entire DRC-South Sudan border
North Kivu
South Kivu
Maniema
Tanganyika
Haut-Lomami

Named in the official UK travel advice for DR Congo (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Goma.

How safe is Goma really?

Neither Goma nor DR Congo has a published homicide rate in the sources this site uses (UNODC and the Igarapé Homicide Monitor), so the strongest single indicator of city safety is simply missing here. DR Congo's income inequality is middling (Gini 44.7) - 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 3,008 deaths from organized violence - war, armed conflict, militia or cartel fighting - within 100 km of Goma across 594 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 Masisi territory (170 deaths), a few kilometres north of Sake Bushanga position (150 deaths), Kishishe (84 deaths).

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates DR Congo at level 4 of 4 - "Do not travel" (updated 2026-07-14). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of this country, naming 14 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 DR Congo

Terrorism in DRC · Protests and demonstrations · Traveling around DRC · Street crime and scamming · Criminal kidnap · Vehicle crime · Justice process · Using cameras in secure areas · LGBT+ travellers · Adopting children from DRC · Camouflage clothing · Money · Road travel · Road conditions · +6 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: no data
Conflict deaths: 3,008within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 44.7country, 2020
Human development: HDI 0.522country, 2023
Income: $1,850/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 810kurban centre · 9,638/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 34.9 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 30/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 29/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 20/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 8.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.41Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 35.8 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 12%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 0.2 doctors /1k0.8 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria: 322 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in DR Congo

Flood: 7.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake: 4.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 2.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe DR Congo as a whole, not Goma specifically.

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%no data

Peace25%13

Equality25%45

Development10%52

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 Goma that gives 32.9/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Goma compared with Kigali

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Goma, red favours Kigali.
Measure	Goma	Kigali	Difference
Safety score	32.9	47.7	−14.7 — better for Kigali
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	no data	3.6 /100k	—
Conflict deaths within 100 km	3,008	533	+2,475 — better for Kigali
Income inequality (Gini)	44.7	39.4	+5.3 — better for Kigali
Human development (HDI)	0.522	0.578	−0.056 — better for Kigali
Road deaths	34.9 /100k	29.4 /100k	+5.5 /100k — better for Kigali
Rule of law	29/100	59/100	−30/100 — better for Kigali
Corruption perceptions	20/100	58/100	−38/100 — better for Kigali
Air quality (PM2.5)	35.8 µg/m³	36.0 µg/m³	−0.2 µg/m³ — better for Goma
Natural-hazard risk	8.0/10	5.4/10	+2.6/10 — better for Kigali

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 Kigali →

Nearby cities

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