Sudan

Is Sudan safe to visit?

No. Sudan is in the middle of one of the world's worst wars, and there is nowhere in the country we would call safe for a visitor. 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 4, "do not travel for any reason", and the UK advises against all travel apart from the remote Hala'ib Triangle and Bir Tawil. 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 Sudan 162nd of 163 countries and estimates the war has killed about 150,000 people and displaced nearly 13 million. We score Sudan 22, well below Afghanistan (37) and above Haiti (15).

The war's toll on ordinary life matters for visitors too: there is no working embassy to call, the health system has largely collapsed, and the main ways out are a drone-struck airport or a crowded desert border.

Who is fighting, and where

The war began on 15 April 2023, when the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) turned on each other in Khartoum, 18 months after the two forces had jointly taken power in the coup of 25 October 2021. By April 2026, according to 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, the army held the north, centre, east and the capital, while the RSF dominated the west. The fighting's centre of gravity has moved to Kordofan, and no settlement is in sight. Several ceasefires have been agreed and broken.

Darfur has seen the worst of it. In February 2026 the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) reported that RSF fighters and allied militias killed more than 6,000 people in the first three days of their final assault on El Fasher in late October 2025, including about 500 people sheltering at a university dormitory on 26 October. OHCHR said the killings, many based on ethnicity, could amount to crimes against humanity, and that the true toll is "undoubtedly significantly higher". The Global Peace Index notes that the UN documented at least 3,300 civilian deaths in the first half of 2025 alone, and that famine was confirmed in several regions.

The US warns that the situation is "violent, volatile, and extremely unpredictable", above all in Kordofan, Darfur and the capital region of Khartoum and Omdurman. Unexploded ordnance and landmines lie in Khartoum and elsewhere, even where the fighting has ended.

Kidnapping, detention and crime

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 threat of detention, kidnap, enforced disappearance and unlawful arrest is high across Sudan, and that British and other Western nationals have recently been held against their will. It says aid workers and journalists are seen as legitimate targets. The US lists kidnapping, rape, armed robbery, home invasion, looting and carjacking as common throughout the country.

Checkpoints are a daily hazard. Some are run by soldiers, others by people who simply want your money, and the US warns some are especially dangerous for certain groups. If you are stopped or attacked, the FCDO's advice is to comply and not resist. Do not photograph government buildings, bridges, petrol stations or airports: plain-clothes security officers watch these places.

Money is a practical problem. Foreign cards rarely work and most ATMs will not pay out, so visitors carry US dollars, which must be dated 2006 or later. That cash makes you a target.

Getting in and out

The US Embassy in Khartoum suspended operations in April 2023 and the British Embassy is closed; the UK has no consular staff in Sudan and is no longer evacuating people. Port Sudan airport is the main gateway and Khartoum airport has reopened for limited traffic, but both have been hit by drone strikes, 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 warns further attacks could close them again. No Sudanese airline is allowed to fly to the UK or EU.

By land, the borders with Chad and Eritrea are closed. Most people leaving cross into Egypt at Argeen or Qustul near Wadi Halfa, where the FCDO says there is almost no infrastructure and the wait can last days. Phone and internet blackouts are frequent, so do not rely on your mobile to call for help.

Health care, disease and heat

Hospitals in Khartoum and much of the country have been damaged, emptied or closed. 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 emergency services are often unresponsive and medical evacuation is likely to be needed for anything beyond basic treatment; if you need care, you may have to make your own way to a hospital. Cholera, malaria, dengue, measles and chikungunya outbreaks are common, especially in displacement camps, and CDC advises malaria tablets, yellow fever vaccination for the south and a polio booster. The ambulance number is 999, but do not count on an answer.

Heat is a serious risk in its own right. Port Sudan reached 47°C on 15 August 2025, and Khartoum topped 40°C on 98 days that year (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis). Flash floods between July and October wash out roads, including those south of Khartoum.

If you have to go

People who still travel to Sudan are mostly aid workers, journalists and Sudanese families. If that is you, go with an organisation that has its own security team, evacuation plan and medical cover, register with your government, and carry your passport at all times, as the law requires. Keep enough cash, water and fuel to leave on your own, because no one is coming to get you.

How we scored it

Conflict (3) is the weakest factor, followed by health (10) and violent crime and petty crime (25 each). Natural hazards (45) and roads (35) score highest, which says more about the rest of the picture than about Sudan's roads. Homicide data are pre-war 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, so confidence is low. The weighted average is 22; our cap of conflict plus 35 (38) does not bind.