Is Kribi safe?
Cameroon · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04
Kribi is a city in Cameroon, home to about 143k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4,527 of 6,168, with a safety score of 58.9 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.
Emergency Ambulance 112 · Fire 119 · Police 117
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country13 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
- Elevated homicide rate6.76 homicides per 100,000 per year (national rate), about 2× the global city median.
- Same-sex activity criminalizedLaw on the books in Cameroon as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- Bakassi Peninsula
- Cameroon-Central African Republic border
- Cameroon-Chad border
- Cameroon-Nigeria border
- Far-North Region
- North-West Region
- South-West Region
- Limbé
- North Region, Adamawa Region and Maroua
- Adamawa Region
- a 20km radius to the north, east and west of Maroua
- 30km south of Maroua
- the 35km stretch of the N3 road connecting Limbé to the Littoral Region in Fako Division
Named in the official UK travel advice for Cameroon (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Kribi.
How safe is Kribi really?
No published homicide figure exists for Kribi itself, so the national rate stands in: Cameroon recorded 6.8 homicides per 100,000 people in 2022 - roughly 2 times the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Cameroon's income inequality is middling (Gini 42.2) - 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 Cameroon at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2026-05-14). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of this country, naming 13 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 Cameroon
Terrorism in Cameroon · Bomb attacks · Armed robbery · Burglary and petty theft · Unofficial taxis · Violent crime near borders and roads · Criminal kidnapping · Adoption scams · Personal ID · Camouflage clothing · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · Using cameras in secure areas · LGBT+ travellers · Wildlife, animal products and souvenirs · +5 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Cameroon — country-level, not specific to Kribi. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 6.8 /100knational rate, 2022 · ~2× the global city median
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 42.2country, 2021
- Human development
- HDI 0.588country, 2023
- Income
- $5,700/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 143kurban centre · 6,787/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 30.2 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 39/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 35/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 26/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 6.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.45Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 55.6 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- no dataof the population · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.1 doctors /1k2.7 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 261 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Cameroon
- Flood
- 6.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 3.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Cameroon as a whole, not Kribi specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Cameroon (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.
All country-level figures shared by every city in Cameroon; 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 Kribi that gives 58.9/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Kribi compared with Bata
| Measure | Kribi | Bata | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 58.9 | 77.4 | −18.6 — better for Bata |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 6.8 /100k | no data | — |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 42.2 | 38.5 | +3.7 — better for Bata |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.588 | 0.674 | −0.086 — better for Bata |
| Road deaths | 30.2 /100k | 27.2 /100k | +3.0 /100k — better for Bata |
| Rule of law | 35/100 | 30/100 | +5/100 — better for Kribi |
| Corruption perceptions | 26/100 | 15/100 | +11/100 — better for Kribi |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 55.6 µg/m³ | 42.2 µg/m³ | +13.4 µg/m³ — better for Bata |
| Natural-hazard risk | 6.7/10 | 3.5/10 | +3.2/10 — better for Bata |
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 Bata →
Nearby cities
- Edéa 51.5
- Bata, Equatorial Guinea 77.4
- Douala 45.1
- Ebolowa 58.9
- Tiko 45.0
- Limbe 45.1
- Buea 44.9
- Malabo, Equatorial Guinea 58.2
See Kribi on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Africa → · Full travel briefings →