Travel safety comparison · Africa
Burkina Faso vs Benin: safety comparison
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Side-by-side safety comparison of Burkina Faso and Benin for 2026: risk scores, FCDO and US State Department advisories, drug law, women's safety, LGBTQ+ legal status, and the practical decision between the two.
Benin carries a materially lower safety risk than Burkina Faso on the composite Warnely score: 52/100 against 81/100, a gap of 29 points. The biggest single category gap is in crime, where Benin scores 2/5 against Burkina Faso's 5/5. The US State Department currently carries a Level 4 advisory on Burkina Faso and a Level 2 on Benin. Women's-safety rating differs: Burkina Faso is Do Not Travel and Benin is Exercise Caution.
| 🇧🇫Burkina Faso | 🇧🇯Benin | |
|---|---|---|
| Warnely composite (0–100, lower is safer) | 81 / 100 | 52 / 100 |
| Risk tier | Do Not Travel | Exercise Increased Caution |
| UK FCDO advisory | avoid all travel to whole country | avoid all but essential travel to parts of country; avoid all travel to parts of country |
| US State Department advisory | Level 4 (Do Not Travel) | Level 2 (Exercise Increased Caution) |
| Global Peace Index rank | #152 | #112 |
| Drug law | Severe (long sentences) | Severe (long sentences) |
| Women's safety rating | Do Not Travel | Exercise Caution |
| LGBTQ+ legal status | legal | legal |
| Tap water | n/a | n/a |
| Currency | XOF | XOF |