Somalia

Is Somalia safe to visit?

No. Somalia combines an active insurgency, kidnapping for ransom, armed crime and almost no medical care. The US State Department rates it Level 4 (do not travel for any reason), and its own staff may not leave the Mogadishu airport complex without armed guards. The UK advises against all travel to almost the whole country.

We score Somalia 26, below Yemen at 29 and well above Haiti at 15. Every factor is weak, not just conflict, so even without al-Shabaab it would sit near the bottom of the table. 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 Somalia 153rd of 163. Confidence is low: Somalia has no homicide statistics, only a WHO model, and its road data is a WHO estimateWHO 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 too.

Al-Shabaab and the war around Mogadishu

Al-Shabaab, an armed Islamist group, carries out frequent attacks across the south and centre, including 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 lists some of the attacks: more than 50 civilians killed and over 200 injured on Lido Beach in August 2024, a bomb on the president's convoy in Mogadishu in March 2025 that reportedly killed 16, and rockets on Mogadishu International Airport in daylight in early 2025. Two large bombs at the Ministry of Education in 2022 killed more than 100 people. In 2026 the FCDO reported a significant rise in fighting with al-Shabaab in Middle Shabelle, close to the capital, and more threats against Mogadishu.

Hotels, restaurants, beaches, checkpoints, convoys and the airport are all named as targets. Attack methods include car bombs, suicide bombers, gunmen and mortar fire. The State Department says ISIS-Somalia is also active.

Politics and Somaliland

The federal government and the opposition are deadlocked over elections and the president's mandate. Talks at Mogadishu's Halane camp, attended by the US and UK ambassadors, collapsed in May 2026, Garowe Online reported, and on 3 June 2026 security forces clashed with opposition forces 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 says. The opposition alliance includes the president of Puntland, the semi-autonomous north-eastern state.

Somaliland, the self-declared state in the north-west, is calmer than the south. Israel became the first country to recognise it, and its foreign minister visited in January 2026, a move the African Union criticised and Somalia condemned. The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to the three western regions around Hargeisa, Berbera and Borama, and against all travel to the eastern regions of Togdheer, Sanaag and Sool, where fighting has increased. This is the only part of Somalia where the UK does not advise against all travel.

Kidnapping and crime

Terrorists, criminal gangs and pirates all kidnap for ransom, 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, and western hostages, including British nationals, have been killed. Local police are not trained or equipped to respond, according to the US. Armed men run illegal roadblocks, and crime has risen around overcrowded camps for displaced people.

The State Department also warns diaspora visitors. Relatives sometimes take Americans' passports after asking them to visit a sick family member, and some unregulated "rehabilitation" schools have held people, including Americans, in chains.

Health care, disease and drought

Health is the second-weakest factor. Outside Hargeisa, which has basic hospitals, medical facilities are extremely limited and far apart, and the US says even minor problems may require evacuation at your own expense. CDC recommends malaria tablets for travel anywhere in Somalia, cholera is present, and polio and diphtheria are circulating in the region. Recurrent drought and floods, such as those that displaced many people in the south-west at the end of 2023, keep disease and hunger high around displacement camps.

If you go despite the advice

• Limit travel to western Somaliland, and only with a sponsoring organisation or security company.
• Arrange airport pickup and armed protection in advance; do not use public transport.
• Bring US dollars in cash. Hargeisa has ATMs; the rest of the country does not take cards.
• Do not carry khat out of the country; it is legal locally but an offence to export.
• Have evacuation insurance and a plan that does not rely on your embassy.

How we scored it

Conflict (8) and health (12) are the weakest factors, followed by violent crime (30) and petty crime (30). Violent crime sits well below 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 5.0 per 100,000 because that model has no Somali data behind it and the advisories describe widespread armed crime and kidnapping. Natural hazards (35) reflect drought and flood with little response capacity, and roads (44) combine a WHO 2021 estimate of 20.2 deaths per 100,000 with militia checkpoints. The weighted average of 26 is below the conflict cap of 43 and is the final score.