Malanville scores 59 out of 100 (moderate safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 4552 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 Malanville safe?

Benin · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04

58.6Moderate · rank 4552 / 6,168
safer than 26% of ranked cities

Malanville is a city in Benin, home to about 114k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4,552 of 6,168, with a safety score of 58.6 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.

US 2/4 Exercise increased caution UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country

Emergency Fire and ambulance 118 · Police 117

UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country6 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.

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 Malanville, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.

Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country

Northern border regions
Eastern Benin
Alibori and Atacora
the area between the Parc du W and the border with Niger
the Pendjari National Park and adjacent hunting grounds
all other areas within 5km of the border with Burkina Faso

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

How safe is Malanville really?

Neither Malanville nor Benin 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. Benin's income inequality is middling (Gini 34.4) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.

Malanville 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 Benin at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2026-01-06). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of this country, naming 6 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 Benin

Terrorism in Benin · Terrorist kidnap · Political situation · Street crime · Vehicle crime · Scams · Voodoo culture · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · Using cameras in secure areas · LGBT+ travellers · Bribes · Swimming safety · Road travel · Sea travel

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: no data
Conflict deaths: 82within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 34.4country, 2021
Human development: HDI 0.515country, 2023
Income: $4,760/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 114kurban centre · 8,170/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 26.8 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 59/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 50/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 45/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 6.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.59Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 39.7 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 18%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 0.2 doctors /1k0.4 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria: 354 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in Benin

Flood: 6.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Benin as a whole, not Malanville specifically.

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%no data

Peace25%52

Equality25%68

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 Malanville that gives 58.6/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Malanville compared with Gaya

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Malanville, red favours Gaya.
Measure	Malanville	Gaya	Difference
Safety score	58.6	53.3	+5.3 — better for Malanville
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	no data	4.4 /100k	—
Conflict deaths within 100 km	82	82	±0
Income inequality (Gini)	34.4	32.9	+1.5 — better for Gaya
Human development (HDI)	0.515	0.419	+0.096 — better for Malanville
Road deaths	26.8 /100k	25.5 /100k	+1.3 /100k — better for Gaya
Rule of law	50/100	41/100	+9/100 — better for Malanville
Corruption perceptions	45/100	31/100	+14/100 — better for Malanville
Air quality (PM2.5)	39.7 µg/m³	65.2 µg/m³	−25.5 µg/m³ — better for Malanville
Natural-hazard risk	6.1/10	7.8/10	−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 Gaya →

Nearby cities

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