Last update: October 10, 2026
Updated dailyIs It Safe to Travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Right Now?
Not recommended
4 3.7 out of 10
Safety Score
Last updated: October 10, 2026 90% data coverage
Democratic Republic of the Congo has a safety score of 3.7/10 as of October 10, 2026, rated as High risk and ranking 243rd out of 248 countries worldwide. The biggest concern is governance (1.9/10), while the strongest area is environment (5.2/10). It combines 21 government travel advisories and 7 other public datasets and is recalculated daily.
What are the safety risk areas?
Governance 1.9/10
Conflict 2.9/10
Health 2.9/10
Crime 3.5/10
Environment 5.2/10
Indicator-level detail
Governance 1.9/10 · High · Coverage: 100%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| V-Dem Rule of Law Index | 1.1/10 | vdem | 2025 |
| V-Dem Public Administration Quality | 1.9/10 | vdem | 2025 |
| V-Dem Political Corruption (inverted) | 1.1/10 | vdem | 2025 |
| INFORM Governance Index | 1.8/10 | inform | 2026 |
Conflict 2.9/10 · High · Coverage: 100%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global Peace Index - Overall Score | 2.7/10 | gpi | 2026 |
| GPI Militarisation Score | 7.6/10 | gpi | 2026 |
| UCDP Conflict-Death Count (log-normalized) | 1.1/10 | ucdp | 2025 |
Health 2.9/10 · High · Coverage: 100%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Bank Child Mortality Rate | 5.5/10 | worldbank | 2024 |
| INFORM Health Risk Index | 0.5/10 | inform | 2026 |
| INFORM Epidemic Risk Index | 1.7/10 | inform | 2026 |
Crime 3.5/10 · High · Coverage: 50%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPI Safety & Security Score | 3.6/10 | gpi | 2026 |
Environment 5.2/10 · Moderate · Coverage: 100%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Bank Air Pollution (PM2.5) | 6.4/10 | worldbank | 2023 |
| INFORM Natural Hazard Risk | 6.0/10 | inform | 2026 |
| INFORM Climate Risk | 3.0/10 | inform | 2026 |
| ReliefWeb Active Humanitarian Disasters | 7.0/10 | reliefweb | 2026 |
| GDACS Natural Disaster Alerts | 8.0/10 | gdacs | 2026 |
See how these scores are calculated on the Methodology page.
Community Sentiment
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What do governments say?
Sources (21)
Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Level 3Alleen noodzakelijke reizen
Updated: Sep 18, 2026 Source
Switzerland Federal Department (EDA)
Level 3Von nicht dringenden Reisen abgeraten
Updated: Jun 5, 2026 Source
Hungary Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Level 2Fokozott óvatossággal látogatható
Updated: Jul 16, 2025 Source
Brazil Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Level 3Crisis alert level 3
Last successfully checked: Oct 9, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it safe to travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2026?
No — the Democratic Republic of the Congo is currently a high-risk destination: as of October 2026 it scores 3.7/10 on our daily safety index, classified as High risk, and travel requires serious caution. The score is an uncertainty-weighted (Bayesian shrinkage) geometric mean of five pillars: conflict (30%), crime (25%), health (20%), governance (15%) and environment (10%).
A weak pillar drags the overall score down more than a strong one lifts it, and the mix also folds in a calibrated consensus of government travel advisories. Thin or stale data pulls a country's score toward a cautious regional baseline instead of guessing — see our methodology page for the full statistical detail.
environment (5.2/10) is the Democratic Republic of the Congo's strongest pillar, while the score is pulled down by conflict (2.9/10) and above all by governance (1.9/10). This pillar gauges the rule of law and the reliability of institutions — a low score means police and courts may offer limited help if something goes wrong.
It combines 21 government travel advisories and 7 other public datasets and is recalculated daily.
What is the biggest risk when traveling to the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
The main concern for the Democratic Republic of the Congo is governance, its weakest pillar at 1.9/10. This pillar gauges the rule of law and the reliability of institutions — a low score means police and courts may offer limited help if something goes wrong.
The lowest-scoring signals here are rule of law (V-Dem) and control of corruption (V-Dem). The second-lowest area is conflict at 2.9/10, so it deserves attention too.
By contrast, environment scores 5.2/10 and is the Democratic Republic of the Congo's strongest area.
What do government travel advisories say about the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
As of October 2026, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has 21 government travel advisories on record. The prevailing guidance is to reconsider travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo: the most severe warnings — do not travel — have been issued by United States and Australia.
How does Democratic Republic of the Congo compare to nearby countries?
| Country | Score | Conflict | Crime | Health | Governance | Environment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mauritius | 7.9 | 8.5 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 6.6 | 7.6 |
| Seychelles | 7.9 | 8.5 | 6.4 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 7.9 |
| Cabo Verde | 7.7 | 8.2 | 6.9 | 7.6 | 6.2 | 7.7 |
| Sao Tome and Principe | 7.6 | 8.1 | 6.9 | 7.2 | 6.1 | 7.9 |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 3.7 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 5.2 |
Democratic Republic of the Congo and its neighbouring countries
Related Countries
Similar safety scores
How has the safety score changed over time?
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Where does the data come from?
- advisoriesFresh
Travel advisories from 21 governments: US State Department, UK FCDO, Australian Government, German Federal Foreign Office, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, New Zealand SafeTravel, Ireland Department of Foreign Affairs, Hong Kong Security Bureau, Brazil Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Austrian Federal Ministry (BMEIA), Belgium Federal Public Service, Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Italy Viaggiare Sicuri, Spain Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan Bureau of Consular Affairs, Switzerland Federal Department (EDA), Poland Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Czech Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Hungary Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Checked: Oct 10, 2026
- gdacsFresh
Global Disaster Alerting Coordination System -- natural disaster alerts
Data vintage: 2026Checked: Oct 10, 2026
- gpiFresh
Global Peace Index -- annual peacefulness ranking by IEP
Data vintage: 2026Checked: Oct 10, 2026
- informFresh
INFORM Risk Index -- hazard, exposure, vulnerability, and coping capacity
Data vintage: 2026Checked: Oct 10, 2026
- reliefwebFresh
ReliefWeb -- humanitarian situation reports and disaster alerts
Data vintage: 2026Checked: Oct 10, 2026
- ucdpFresh
UCDP Georeferenced Event Dataset (Uppsala Conflict Data Program) -- state-based and one-sided conflict deaths, via the Our World in Data mirror (CC-BY)
Data vintage: 2025Checked: Oct 10, 2026
- vdemFresh
V-Dem Institute Country-Year Dataset v16 (CC-BY-SA 4.0) -- Rule of Law, Political Corruption, and Public Administration indices (Coppedge et al., DOI 10.23696/vdemds26)
Data vintage: 2025Checked: Oct 10, 2026
- worldbankRecent
World Bank Development Indicators -- child mortality and PM2.5 air pollution
Data vintage: 2023–2024Checked: Oct 10, 2026