Burkina Faso

Is Burkina Faso safe to visit?

No. A jihadist insurgency that crossed from Mali in 2016 now affects most of Burkina Faso, and the US (Level 4) and UK both advise against all travel to the whole country. The UK widened its advice to cover everywhere, Ouagadougou included, on 25 July 2025. The 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 2026 ranks Burkina Faso 149th of 163 and counts it with Mali and Niger in the central Sahel, which it says accounted for nearly half of the world's terrorism deaths in 2025. We score Burkina Faso 28, a point below Mali (29) and well below Ghana, its southern neighbour.

Coups, the junta and the war

The army took power on 24 January 2022, and a second coup on 30 September 2022 brought Captain Ibrahim Traoré to power. 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 the political situation remains unstable and further coups are possible. Protests are common and can turn violent, and states of emergency in eight regions, among them the Sahel, East, North and Hauts-Bassins, let the security forces search, detain and restrict movement.

JNIM, al-Qaeda's Sahel affiliate, and Islamic State fighters attack army posts, villages, churches, mosques and markets. The worst recent attack the FCDO lists killed at least 400 people at Barsalogho in August 2024. In February 2026 JNIM ran a coordinated offensive with more than 30 attacks in Burkina Faso, killing over 120 soldiers, forest guards and militia members, according to ACLED data cited by Human Rights Watch. HRW found that JNIM fighters executed at least 34 civilians in the market at Titao on 14 February, men they accused of links to the army's volunteer militias. Seven Ghanaian traders were among those killed there. HRW also says the army itself has targeted civilians during operations.

Kidnapping

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 calls the threat of kidnapping by JNIM and Islamic State groups "very high", and foreigners have been kidnapped and killed in recent years, especially in the north-east. The US says the threat reaches Ouagadougou. Criminal gangs kidnap too, and may sell hostages to terrorist groups. Tourists, aid workers, journalists and business travellers are all seen as targets, and the UK will not pay ransoms. Vary your routes, travel only by day and avoid places where foreigners gather in predictable patterns.

Roads: crashes and attacks

Burkina Faso's roads are among the deadliest we cover. The WHO estimatedWHO 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 27.8 road deaths per 100,000 people in 2021, and 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 poorly repaired roads, vehicles without headlights and livestock, motorbikes and pedestrians in the dark. On top of that, armed groups attack traffic. The FCDO names the routes from Ouagadougou to Bobo-Dioulasso, from Bobo-Dioulasso to Côte d'Ivoire, from Fada N'Gourma towards Benin and Togo, and the roads to Niger. Landmines and roadside bombs are increasing, drivers who refuse to stop at armed roadblocks have been shot at, and buses are held up at night. Phone coverage is patchy, so the FCDO suggests a satellite phone and always carrying water.

Crime in Ouagadougou

Street crime is a serious risk, and thieves are often armed. 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 singles out the UN Circle and the area around the former Central Market. Do not carry valuables or walk alone at night. Cards work only in a few large hotels, and the few ATMs take only Visa, so most visitors carry cash, which raises the stakes of a robbery.

Carry your passport. Do not photograph military or government sites. Same-sex relations and their "promotion" are criminal offences with up to five years in prison, and the FCDO reports a higher risk of harassment and violence for LGBT+ travellers.

Health and heat

Malaria is everywhere: the 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 353 cases per 1,000 people at risk in 2024, one of the highest rates in the world. CDC advises malaria tablets and yellow fever vaccination for every traveller, and dengue is present. 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 medical facilities are very limited and serious cases need evacuation to Europe, so carry insurance that covers it. Call 18 for an ambulance in Ouagadougou and 112 elsewhere, and be ready to get yourself to a clinic. Heat peaks from March to May: Ouagadougou passed 40°C on 44 days in 2025. Floods and landslides follow in the June to October rains.

How we scored it

Conflict (6) is the weakest factor, followed by health (22) and road safety (28). Natural hazards (50) score highest. The recorded 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 is very low, but it dates from 2017 and is likely an undercount, so we lean on WHO's model (9.3 per 100,000 in 2021) and set confidence to low. Violent crime (38) sits just below the 40–59 band for that rate because of widespread kidnapping and armed road hold-ups. The weighted average is 28; our cap of conflict plus 35 (41) does not bind.