Angola

Is Angola safe to visit?

With care, and mostly with a plan arranged before you land. Angola is not at war, but the capital has serious street crime, the countryside still has minefields left from a civil war that ended in 2002, and health care is thin. The US advisoryUS travel advisoryThe US State Department's rating of each country from Level 1 (exercise normal precautions) to Level 4 (do not travel).More in the glossary is Level 2, "exercise increased caution", last updated on 5 March 2026, with Level 3, "reconsider travel", for greater Luanda because of crime. We score Angola 53, close to Zimbabwe, behind Namibia to the south and well ahead of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north.

The numbers are thin. Angola's last national homicide figure is 4.1 per 100,000, from 2016 (UNODC); WHO's modelled estimate for 2021 is 8.7. So we lean on the US and UK descriptions of current crime and rate our confidence low.

Crime in Luanda

Most of the risk for a visitor is concentrated in the capital. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary describes a high level of crime in Luanda, some of it violent: muggers can be armed and some attacks have been fatal. If you are held up, hand over your money at once.

The common patterns are specific. Thieves reach into cars stopped or crawling in downtown traffic, so keep bags out of sight, doors locked and windows up, and do not use a phone or laptop at the window. Robbers sometimes stage a minor collision to get a driver out of the car, then take the car as well. People who withdraw cash are followed from banks and ATMs. The FCDO advises using a hotel or pre-arranged car for withdrawals, not walking around Luanda at all after dark, and not walking between the bars and restaurants on the Ilha do Cabo. It also reports rapes in nightlife areas and private homes.

The FCDO recommends against taxi apps where possible, because driver checks vary, and calls minibus and coach transport unsafe. Most companies with staff in Angola run their own drivers and security rules; if yours does, use them.

Cabinda, the Lundas and the July 2025 riots

Angola has no national conflict, but two areas carry UK warnings. In the Cabinda exclave, cut off from the rest of the country by a strip of DR Congo, separatist groups have attacked foreigners and Angolans and say they will continue; the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary advises against all but essential travel to the province except Cabinda city. Human Rights Watch reported renewed clashes between the army and the separatist FLEC in May 2025, with FLEC claiming six civilians were killed.

In the diamond provinces of Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul, the FCDO warns of armed hold-ups on mine roads, and says the authorities may restrict, arrest or detain foreigners who move around without permission. It advises against all but essential travel within 1 km of the DRC border in Lunda Norte.

Unrest is the other risk. When fuel prices rose in July 2025, a three-day taxi strike from 28 July turned into riots; Human Rights Watch says police used excessive force, reportedly leaving at least 29 people dead and more than 1,200 arrested in Luanda, Huambo, Benguela and Huíla. Stay away from protests and keep some water and food at home in case of a curfew. The 2026 Global Peace IndexGlobal Peace IndexAn annual ranking of 163 countries by how peaceful they are, based on conflict, crime, militarisation and political instability.More in the glossary ranks Angola 78th of 163, one of the better results in central Africa.

Landmines and roads

Angola's minefields are much smaller than they were, 57 square kilometres of known contamination at the end of 2024, but Angola asked in March 2025 for another five years to clear them. The Landmine Monitor recorded 67 casualties from mines and explosive remnants in 2024, 21 of them fatal, and 58% of the victims were children. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says mines remain on some roads, verges and bridges, and heavy rain can wash them into areas thought to be clear. Stay on paved roads and well-used tracks.

WHO estimatesWHO road-death estimateThe World Health Organization's estimate of road traffic deaths per 100,000 people in a country, adjusted for deaths that police statistics miss.More in the glossary 15.0 road deaths per 100,000 people in 2021, which we use for every country; its older 2019 series put Angola at 26.1. Either way, roads kill far more people than crime does. Outside Luanda and the provincial capitals, roads are often poor and unlit and help is far away; the FCDO says visitors usually travel in convoys of at least two vehicles and avoid driving at night.

Cholera, malaria and medical care

A large cholera outbreak began in January 2025. By 23 March WHO counted 8,543 cases and 329 deaths in 16 of Angola's 21 provinces, and Human Rights Watch put the total at more than 27,000 cases and 759 deaths by June. CDC says transmission is still widespread, so drink sealed or treated water and eat food that is freshly cooked. CDC recommends malaria tablets and yellow fever vaccine for everyone aged 9 months or older; dengue, Zika and rabies also occur.

The US says adequate trauma and ambulance services are not widely available, and even a minor problem may need evacuation at your own cost. Angola borders the DRC, where an Ebola outbreak has been a global health emergency since May 2026, and WHO rates the risk for neighbouring countries as high, so expect health screening at borders. Call 112 for an ambulance and 110 for the police.

How we scored it

Health (38) is the weakest factor, followed by petty crime (40) and roads (54), scored on WHO's 2021 estimate of 15.0 deaths per 100,000. Natural hazards (66) score highest. Violent crime (55) rests on WHO's modelled homicide rateHomicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary of 8.7 and the Level 3 crime warning for Luanda. Conflict (60) reflects Cabinda's insurgency and the 2025 riots, well below peaceful neighbours like Namibia. The weighted average is 53; our cap of conflict plus 35 (95) does not bind.