Parakou scores 79 out of 100 (high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 2029 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 Parakou safe?

Benin · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04

78.6High · rank 2029 / 6,168
safer than 67% of ranked cities

Parakou is a city in Benin, home to about 396k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 2,029 of 6,168, with a safety score of 78.6 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.

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.

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 Parakou.

How safe is Parakou really?

Neither Parakou 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.

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 Parakou. Read what each one says →

The numbers

Homicide rate: no data
Conflict deaths: 0within 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: 396kurban centre · 4,546/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 Parakou 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%100

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 Parakou that gives 78.6/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Parakou compared with Djougou

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Parakou, red favours Djougou.
Measure	Parakou	Djougou	Difference
Safety score	78.6	78.6	±0.0
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	no data	no data	—
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	0	±0

Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Benin, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Djougou →

Nearby cities

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