Kenema scores 69 out of 100 (high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 3518 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 Kenema safe?

Sierra Leone · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04

69.1High · rank 3518 / 6,168
safer than 43% of ranked cities

Kenema is a city in Sierra Leone, home to about 249k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 3,518 of 6,168, with a safety score of 69.1 out of 100, placing it clearly above the global midpoint.

US 2/4 Exercise increased caution

Emergency 117 (ambulance, fire, police)

Same-sex activity criminalizedLaw on the books in Sierra Leone as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.
Airlines certified in Sierra Leone are banned from EU airspaceThe EU Air Safety List (2026) bars every carrier certified in Sierra Leone, because its aviation authority cannot demonstrate effective safety oversight. This covers flights operated by Sierra Leone-certified airlines, typically domestic and regional routes; international carriers flying into Sierra Leone are certified elsewhere and are not affected.

No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for Sierra Leone are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.

How safe is Kenema really?

No published homicide figure exists for Kenema itself, so the national rate stands in: Sierra Leone recorded 2.2 homicides per 100,000 people in 2020 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Sierra Leone's income inequality is middling (Gini 35.7) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates Sierra Leone at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2025-09-14). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Sierra Leone without any avoid-travel warning in force. 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 Sierra Leone

Terrorism in Sierra Leone · Political situation · Reporting crime · Personal ID · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · Diamond smuggling · Land ownership disputes · Taking photographs and filmmaking · LGBT+ travellers · Adoption in Sierra Leone · Water sports and swimming safety · Road travel · Road conditions and safety · Sierra Leone’s borders with Guinea and Liberia · +5 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 2.2 /100knational rate, 2020
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 35.7country, 2018
Human development: HDI 0.467country, 2023
Income: $3,690/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 249kurban centre · 6,565/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 33.0 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 58/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 43/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 34/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 4.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.60Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 22.5 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 11%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 0.1 doctors /1k0.4 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria: 283 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in Sierra Leone

Flood: 5.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Tsunami: 2.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Sierra Leone as a whole, not Kenema specifically.

Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Sierra Leone (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.

The EU bars every airline certified in Sierra Leone from European airspace because the national aviation authority cannot demonstrate effective safety oversight (EU Air Safety List, 2026). This concerns flights operated by Sierra Leone-certified airlines, typically domestic and regional routes, not the international carriers most visitors arrive on. See the airlines listed

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%58

Peace25%100

Equality25%65

Development10%47

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 Kenema that gives 69.1/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Kenema compared with Monrovia

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Kenema, red favours Monrovia.
Measure	Kenema	Monrovia	Difference
Safety score	69.1	65.5	+3.5 — better for Kenema
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	2.2 /100k	3.1 /100k	−0.9 /100k — better for Kenema
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	1	−1 — better for Kenema
Income inequality (Gini)	35.7	35.3	+0.4 — better for Monrovia
Human development (HDI)	0.467	0.510	−0.043 — better for Monrovia
Road deaths	33.0 /100k	38.9 /100k	−5.9 /100k — better for Kenema
Rule of law	43/100	42/100	+1/100 — better for Kenema
Corruption perceptions	34/100	28/100	+6/100 — better for Kenema
Air quality (PM2.5)	22.5 µg/m³	17.9 µg/m³	+4.6 µg/m³ — better for Monrovia
Natural-hazard risk	4.8/10	4.9/10	−0.1/10 — better for Kenema

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 Monrovia →

Nearby cities

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