Discover Africa’s Safest Countries to Visit in 2025: A Comprehensive Data-Driven Guide

Key Takeaways:

• Africa is full of vibrant, secure travel destinations that offer incredible cultural, historical, and natural experiences.
• This guide uses robust data from the Global Peace Index (GPI), Global Terrorism Index (GTI), Ecological Threat Report (ETR), and Crime Index to rank the safest African countries.
• Mauritius, with its low crime rates and political stability, tops the list, followed by Tunisia, Rwanda, Morocco, Algeria, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania, Namibia, and Egypt.
• These nations not only compare favorably within Africa but also hold up well against global benchmarks like Iceland, Ireland, and Singapore.
• Visualizations such as bar charts, scatter plots, and radar charts help illustrate the data behind these insights.
• Whether you’re a traveler, investor, or policymaker, this data-driven guide shows that Africa is not only rich in opportunities but also in safety.

From the Pyramids of Giza (Egypt) to Victoria Falls (Zambia/Zimbabwe) and Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), Africa is a continent of spectacular sights. But just like anywhere else in the world, safety can be a crucial factor—whether you’re traveling for leisure or scouting new business opportunities.

In this report, we combine four robust datasets to create a more nuanced measure of “safety” across African nations:

• Global Peace Index (GPI): Focuses on peace and conflict levels (lower score = more peaceful).
• Global Terrorism Index (GTI): Gauges terrorism’s impact (lower score = less terrorism).
• Ecological Threat Report (ETR): Assesses exposure to climate and resource-related risks (lower score = fewer ecological threats).
• Crime Rates: Examines overall crime indices, including resilience and severity (lower score = less crime).

By normalizing each metric—where “lower is better”—and summing them into a composite score, we identified Africa’s Top 10 safest countries. We also compare these countries to notable “benchmark” nations like Iceland, Ireland, Austria, Singapore, and others to see how Africa stacks up on the global stage.

Using only African countries in our final calculations, here’s the Top 10 list for 2025:

How We Got The Safest African Countries

• Filtered out benchmark (non-African) countries.
• Normalized key metrics (GPI, GTI, ETR, and CrimeIndex) from 0 to 1 (where 0 is best).
• Summed those normalized scores to form a “composite score.”
• Ranked from the lowest total (safest) to the highest.

Our composite ranking doesn’t stand alone; it comes from examining each index and metric in detail. Below are highlights from the Global Peace Index (GPI), Global Terrorism Index (GTI), Ecological Threat Report (ETR), and Crime Rates.

Normalization & Summation

• GPI and GTI scores are lower-is-better measures. Countries with lower GPI and GTI typically enjoy lower levels of conflict and terrorism threats.
• ETR scores measure ecological risks (e.g., resource scarcity, climate impact). Higher ETR indicates greater vulnerabilities.
• Crime data includes overall crime, criminal actors, and a “crime resilience” factor.

Once normalized, each metric’s influence is aggregated to yield the final composite scores.

These visualizations help illuminate where each country stands across different safety dimensions.

Interpretation:

• Countries at the top of this bar chart, such as Mauritius and Tunisia, scored favorably on peace indicators.
• The Top 10 countries (highlighted) often cluster toward the lower (safer) GPI range.

Interpretation:

• Look for countries in the bottom-left corner (both GPI_Score and GTI_Score low). These nations typically demonstrate higher overall stability and lower terrorism risks.
• Bubble size visually encodes the ETR Score. Bigger bubbles = higher ecological threats.

Interpretation:

• Countries at the top of this bar chart face more significant ecological and resource-based threats.
• Some Top 10 safest countries (e.g., Botswana, Morocco) display moderately lower ETR scores, suggesting less long-term ecological risk.

Radar (spider) charts help us visualize multiple crime metrics simultaneously—ranging from overall crime rates to criminal actor influence. Below is an example for the Top 5 safest nations in our ranking.

Interpretation:

• Smaller ‘spread’ across the radial axes indicates lower crime or more resilience in that dimension.
• Differences among the Top 5 countries can show up in subtle ways—one may have moderate criminal actor risk but excel in resilience, etc.

Many African nations rank surprisingly well when compared to traditionally “safe” countries such as Iceland, Austria, Singapore, or even the United States. Here are specific examples:

• Mauritius (GPI Rank 22, Score ~1.577) outranks the U.S. (GPI Rank 132, Score ~2.622) and is on par with many European nations for overall peace.
• Botswana (GPI Rank 50, Score ~1.863) often appears in the same bracket as New Zealand (GPI Rank 4, Score ~1.323) and Denmark (GPI Rank 8, Score ~1.382) in terms of peacefulness, though it still trails them slightly.
• GTI: Countries like Morocco, Mauritius, Botswana, and Ghana have a 0.00 terrorism impact—the same as Denmark, Portugal, and Singapore.

Interpretation:

• Nations like Iceland (GPI ~1.112) top the global list, but Mauritius, Tunisia, and Botswana aren’t too far behind many European benchmarks.

Mauritius

• GTI: 0.00 (no impact from terrorism).
• ETR: 1.64 (similar to or better than advanced nations like Denmark at 1.42).
• Crime: Moderate index (~48.1), yet safer than parts of Western Europe.
• Mauritius is considered the safest African country.
  

Tunisia

• GPI Rank: ~74 (favorable among 163 nations).
• GTI: 2.914 (better than the U.S. at 4.141).
• ETR: 1.74, indicating strong ecological resilience.
  

Rwanda

• GPI Rank: ~92 (significant improvements since the 1990s).
• GTI: 0.114 (one of the world’s lowest).
• Crime: In the top 10 safest in Africa by multiple measures.
  

Morocco

• GPI Rank: ~79, outranking countries like China and Nepal.
• GTI: 0.00, no recorded terrorism.
• Crime Index: ~47.1, relatively calm daily life.

• Travelers: Data shows that African destinations like Mauritius, Tunisia, Morocco, and Rwanda can be as peaceful—or more so—than many Western countries.
• Investors & Entrepreneurs: A stable GPI and minimal terrorism (GTI) are big draws for foreign investments. Low crime encourages business growth.
• Residents & Policymakers: Understanding each dimension—conflict, terrorism, ecological threats, and crime—helps prioritize policy interventions.

Produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), the GPI reviews 163 countries, accounting for nearly all the world’s population. It uses 23 indicators, including political stability, violent crime rates, and military expenditure. A lower GPI score means a more peaceful nation.

Also from IEP, the GTI measures how countries are affected by terrorism. It factors in the number of terrorist incidents, fatalities, and psychological impact. Scores range from 0 to 10, where 0 means no known terrorism. Many African nations score very low on terrorism (including Botswana, Mauritius, and Namibia)—the same score as countries like Denmark, Portugal, and Singapore.

This index identifies countries facing significant environmental risks, such as water scarcity or climate-change impact. A higher ETR score signals greater vulnerability. Some African nations (e.g., Niger, Chad, Eritrea) face extremely high threats, while others (e.g., Mauritius, Tunisia) are relatively insulated and score on par with or better than many Western countries.

Compiled from surveys and reported data (e.g., Numbeo), Crime Indexes range from 0 to 100—lower means less crime. Additional metrics like Criminality Scores and Crime Resilience measure how governments respond to or resist crime.

• Mauritius ranks safer than some European nations, with a Crime Index of 48.1 and a strong resilience factor.
• Morocco and Algeria are also noteworthy for moderate-to-lower crime indices relative to global averages.

• Holistic Safety: Safety isn’t just about low crime; it includes peace, minimal terrorism, and ecological stability.
• Africa vs. the World: Several African nations stand near or above global benchmarks (e.g., Mauritius outranking the U.S. in GPI).
• Check Local Advisories: Always consult regional travel advisories and exercise common sense when exploring new destinations.
• Cultural Richness: Beyond the stats, Africa offers unique landscapes and warm hospitality—a fact that keeps visitors returning.

Don’t let generalizations about Africa overshadow the data. Many African countries rank on par with globally recognized “safe havens,” proving that safety is about more than just a single headline. Whether you’re a traveler, investor, or curious reader—these insights reveal a continent of opportunities, resilience, and continuous growth.

Have questions or additional insights? Share in the comments, and let’s keep the conversation going!

[1] “Institute for Economics & Peace – Global Peace Index, Global Terrorism Index, and Ecological Threat Report,“ Institute for Economics & Peace

[2] “Global Peace Index, Global Terrorism Index, Ecological Threat ReportVision of Humanity,“ Global Peace Index Map

[3] Crime Rate by Country 2024 Numbeo, “Crime Index by Country 2024,”