Malabo scores 58 out of 100 (moderate safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 4580 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 Malabo safe?

Equatorial Guinea · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04

58.2Moderate · rank 4580 / 6,168
safer than 26% of ranked cities

Malabo is a city in Equatorial Guinea, home to about 755k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4,580 of 6,168, with a safety score of 58.2 out of 100, which lands it in the middle band of the ranking.

US 2/4 Exercise increased caution

Emergency Ambulance 3101 · Police 666 404040 or 666 303030

Deadliest recorded locations nearby

Buea town6 deaths · 2 events
Buea6 deaths · 2 events
Matouké checkpoint located in the Bona-Léa district, Moungo department6 deaths · 1 event

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

How safe is Malabo really?

Neither Malabo nor Equatorial Guinea 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. Equatorial Guinea's income inequality is middling (Gini 38.5) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.

Malabo also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 69 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 30 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Buea town (6 deaths), Buea (6 deaths), Matouké checkpoint located in the Bona-Léa district, Moungo department (6 deaths).

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates Equatorial Guinea at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2025-10-06). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Equatorial Guinea 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 Equatorial Guinea

Terrorism in Equatorial Guinea · Political situation · Commercial disputes · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Taxis · Personal ID · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · Using cameras in secure areas · Behaviour in public · LGBT+ travellers · Money · Road travel · Roadblocks · Air travel · +1 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: no data
Conflict deaths: 69within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 38.5country, 2022
Human development: HDI 0.674country, 2023
Income: $14,610/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 755kurban centre · 10,200/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 27.2 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 63/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 30/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 15/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 3.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: no dataGeorgetown WPS Index · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 42.2 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: no dataof the population · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 0.1 doctors /1k2.1 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria: 228 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in Equatorial Guinea

Drought: 2.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Flood: 2.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Equatorial Guinea as a whole, not Malabo specifically.

Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Equatorial Guinea (as of 2025).

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%no data

Peace25%54

Equality25%59

Development10%67

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 Malabo that gives 58.2/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Malabo compared with Douala

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Malabo, red favours Douala.
Measure	Malabo	Douala	Difference
Safety score	58.2	45.1	+13.1 — better for Malabo
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	no data	6.8 /100k	—
Conflict deaths within 100 km	69	159	−90 — better for Malabo
Income inequality (Gini)	38.5	42.2	−3.7 — better for Malabo
Human development (HDI)	0.674	0.588	+0.086 — better for Malabo
Road deaths	27.2 /100k	30.2 /100k	−3.0 /100k — better for Malabo
Rule of law	30/100	35/100	−5/100 — better for Douala
Corruption perceptions	15/100	26/100	−11/100 — better for Douala
Air quality (PM2.5)	42.2 µg/m³	55.6 µg/m³	−13.4 µg/m³ — better for Malabo
Natural-hazard risk	3.5/10	6.7/10	−3.2/10 — better for Malabo

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 Douala →

Nearby cities

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