Is Yola safe?
Nigeria · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04
Yola is a city in Nigeria, home to about 758k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,457 of 6,168, with a safety score of 46.2 out of 100, which lands it in the middle band of the ranking.
Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police)
- US State Department: Reconsider travelOfficial travel advisory level 3 of 4 for Nigeria, updated 2026-06-11.
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country26 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
- Elevated homicide rate15.75 homicides per 100,000 per year (national rate), about 6× the global city median.
- Same-sex activity criminalized - death penalty in lawLaw on the books in Nigeria as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.
Deadliest recorded locations nearby
- Guyuk and Lamurde Local Government Areas (LGA) of Adamawa State, Northeast Nigeria26 deaths · 2 events
- Kodomun Community of Demsa Local Government Area of Adamawa State8 deaths · 1 event
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Yola, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- North East Nigeria
- North West Nigeria
- North Central Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, including Abuja
- South East and South South Nigeria
- Borno State
- Yobe State
- Adamawa State
- Gombe State
- Bauchi State
- Katsina State
- Zamfara State
- Kaduna State
- Kano State
- Kebbi State
- Jigawa State
- Sokoto State
- Niger State
- Kogi State
- Plateau State
- Taraba State
- Kwara State
- Benue State
- Abia State
- non-riverine areas of Delta, Bayelsa, and Rivers States
- Anambra State
- Imo State
Named in the official UK travel advice for Nigeria (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Yola.
How safe is Yola really?
No published homicide figure exists for Yola itself, so the national rate stands in: Nigeria recorded 16 homicides per 100,000 people in 2023 - roughly 6 times the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Nigeria's income inequality is middling (Gini 33.9) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.
Yola also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 58 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 7 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Guyuk and Lamurde Local Government Areas (LGA) of Adamawa State, Northeast Nigeria (26 deaths), Kodomun Community of Demsa Local Government Area of Adamawa State (8 deaths).
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Nigeria at level 3 of 4 - "Reconsider travel" (updated 2026-06-11). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of this country, naming 26 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 Nigeria
Terrorism in Nigeria · Terrorist kidnap · Political situation · Curfews and communication blackouts · Street and vehicle crime · Withdrawing and exchanging money · Financial scams · Surrogacy and fertility treatment · Overseas Adoption · Kidnapping for ransom · Methanol poisoning · Using a mobile · Ramadan · Illegal drugs · +8 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Nigeria — country-level, not specific to Yola. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 16 /100knational rate, 2023 · ~6× the global city median
- Conflict deaths
- 58within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 33.9country, 2022
- Human development
- HDI 0.560country, 2023
- Income
- $9,230/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 758kurban centre · 6,425/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 20.7 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 32/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 40/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 26/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 7.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.49Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 65.7 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 30%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.4 doctors /1k0.5 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 294 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Nigeria
- Flood
- 8.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 3.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Nigeria as a whole, not Yola specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Nigeria, with the death penalty applying in law (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.
All country-level figures shared by every city in Nigeria; 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 Yola that gives 46.2/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Yola compared with Garoua
| Measure | Yola | Garoua | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 46.2 | 45.2 | +1.0 — better for Yola |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 16 /100k | 6.8 /100k | +9.0 /100k — better for Garoua |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 58 | 151 | −93 — better for Yola |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 33.9 | 42.2 | −8.3 — better for Yola |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.560 | 0.588 | −0.028 — better for Garoua |
| Road deaths | 20.7 /100k | 30.2 /100k | −9.5 /100k — better for Yola |
| Rule of law | 40/100 | 35/100 | +5/100 — better for Yola |
| Corruption perceptions | 26/100 | 26/100 | ±0/100 |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 65.7 µg/m³ | 55.6 µg/m³ | +10.1 µg/m³ — better for Garoua |
| Natural-hazard risk | 7.2/10 | 6.7/10 | +0.5/10 — better for Garoua |
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 Garoua →
Nearby cities
See Yola on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Africa → · Full travel briefings →