Tshela scores 51 out of 100 (moderate safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 5112 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 Tshela safe?

DR Congo · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04

51.4Moderate · rank 5112 / 6,168
safer than 17% of ranked cities

Tshela is a city in DR Congo, home to about 147k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,112 of 6,168, with a safety score of 51.4 out of 100, which lands it in the middle band of the ranking.

US 4/4 Do not travel UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country

US State Department: Do not travelOfficial travel advisory level 4 of 4 for DR Congo, updated 2026-07-14.
UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country14 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.

Deadliest recorded locations nearby

Miconje, region of Buco Zau5 deaths · 1 event
Bonde-Grande village, Cacongo municipality5 deaths · 1 event

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

Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country

Areas in Kinshasa Province
DRC-Central African Republic border
Eastern DRC
South-East DRC
Territory in Mai-Ndombe Province
Kisangani airport
The districts of N’djili and Kimbanseke in Kinshasa city south of the main access road to N’djili airport, in Nsele commune
The N1 road in Kinshasa Province, between and including Menkao to the west, Kenge to the east, the border of Mai-Ndombe province to the north, and 10km to the south
Haut-Uélé and Ituri, including the entire DRC-South Sudan border
North Kivu
South Kivu
Maniema
Tanganyika
Haut-Lomami

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

How safe is Tshela really?

Neither Tshela nor DR Congo 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. DR Congo's income inequality is middling (Gini 44.7) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.

Tshela also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 50 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 37 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Miconje, region of Buco Zau (5 deaths), Bonde-Grande village, Cacongo municipality (5 deaths).

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates DR Congo at level 4 of 4 - "Do not travel" (updated 2026-07-14). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of this country, naming 14 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 DR Congo

Terrorism in DRC · Protests and demonstrations · Traveling around DRC · Street crime and scamming · Criminal kidnap · Vehicle crime · Justice process · Using cameras in secure areas · LGBT+ travellers · Adopting children from DRC · Camouflage clothing · Money · Road travel · Road conditions · +6 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: no data
Conflict deaths: 50within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 44.7country, 2020
Human development: HDI 0.522country, 2023
Income: $1,850/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 147kurban centre · 9,203/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 34.9 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 30/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 29/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 20/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 8.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.41Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 35.8 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 12%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 0.2 doctors /1k0.8 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria: 322 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in DR Congo

Flood: 7.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake: 4.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 2.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe DR Congo as a whole, not Tshela specifically.

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%no data

Peace25%57

Equality25%45

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 Tshela that gives 51.4/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Tshela compared with Cabinda

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Tshela, red favours Cabinda.
Measure	Tshela	Cabinda	Difference
Safety score	51.4	47.3	+4.1 — better for Tshela
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	no data	4.1 /100k	—
Conflict deaths within 100 km	50	43	+7 — better for Cabinda
Income inequality (Gini)	44.7	51.3	−6.6 — better for Tshela
Human development (HDI)	0.522	0.616	−0.094 — better for Cabinda
Road deaths	34.9 /100k	26.1 /100k	+8.8 /100k — better for Cabinda
Rule of law	29/100	37/100	−8/100 — better for Cabinda
Corruption perceptions	20/100	32/100	−12/100 — better for Cabinda
Air quality (PM2.5)	35.8 µg/m³	19.9 µg/m³	+15.9 µg/m³ — better for Cabinda
Natural-hazard risk	8.0/10	6.0/10	+2.0/10 — better for Cabinda

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 Cabinda →

Nearby cities

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