When it comes to travel, safety is always a top priority—so let’s take a closer look at the 10 safest countries in Africa
Internationally, Africa has a bad rep for being one of the most unsafest destinations to visit as a white tourist. However, lots of African countries have made strides to eliminate this risk and make their countries safe enough for tourists all over the world.
In this article, I’ll be showing you the top 10 safest countries in Africa you can visit even as a white tourist in 2025.
If you’re wondering if it’s safe to visit Africa as a white tourist, the answer is yes. It’s absolutely safe for tourists from any part of the world including the United States to visit Africa, especially these 10 safest countries I’ll be listing below.
In my personal experience and opinion, the safest country to visit in Africa is Rwanda. You can be sure to not experience any violent crime or even petty crimes. However, this list will contain a lot of other factors like Global Peace Index ranking and experience of other travelers as well.
As someone who has explored most of Africa and seen what it has to offer, alongside some travel partners and friends. The countries I’ll be listing here will be from my experience alongside detailed research on each country. Because I don’t think my experience alone serves as enough reason for you to consider them safe. But trust me–if you want to visit Africa as a white tourist, then these countries should be at the top of your list.
Top 10 safest Countries in Africa for White Tourists
10. Madagascar
Madagascar is one of the safest country to visit in Africa, except for petty crimes like pickpocketing and bag snatching.
It currently ranks as the 44th position in the Global Peace Index, also among the highest for most African countries. Madagascar has some beautiful attractions, unmatched by any country in the world, and is sometimes referred to as the eighth continent particularly because of the unique species and the extreme biodiversity that is unmatched. It’s considered to have 90% of the wildlife that cannot be seen anywhere else in our planet.
While I wouldn’t advise exploring rural areas or late-night walks, Madagascar is home to some beautiful beaches and natural scenes that will steal your breath away.
So, other than the usual precautions you should exercise when visiting any country to keep your belongings safe, you’re in no life-threatening danger by visiting Madagascar. Not to mention, the people are welcoming to tourists.
9. Rwanda
Rwanda boasts of being one of the safest countries in Africa. It’s literally the mantra for its tourism promotion, the “Visit Rwanda” campaign. And quite frankly, the government actively makes efforts to make sure it’s so.
After spending a few months in Rwanda, I can say for sure, that whether you choose to walk around by 3 am in the middle of the night, as a white tourist, or solo female traveler, or you choose to hold your phones on your hand during any of your trips, Rwanda is absolutely safe for all tourists.
My only negative experience with Rwanda is in the more rural areas where extreme carelessness like leaving important items unattended for too long can lead to them being taken away.
During peak holiday periods like Christmas and New Year’s, there are increased foot police at almost every junction keeping you safe.
But Rwanda’s safety isn’t the only thing it offers. Its capital city Kigali is considered one of the cleanest cities in Africa.
If you’re making a list of countries in Africa to visit, I definitely recommend adding Rwanda to the list, especially popular places like Akagera Park, King Palace Museum and Car Free Zone.
8. Senegal
Sengal is another fascinating and safe African country to visit. It currently ranks 84th on the Global Peace Index, and one of the few African countries US Travel does not outrightly say no to.
This African country also has so much to offer, particularly St Lious with its crumbling colonial buildings and friendly locals. It’s a great place to spend the New Year’s. However, I’d advise to visit the island rather than the mainland.
Dakar is also another great place to visit, however in recent times, there’s being a discovering of poliovirus in the water, so it’s best to take your shots before considering visiting this part of Senegal. I’d also be totally wrong to not warn you about the hustler spirit most of the people here have. So be careful or you might end up exceeding your budget out of guilt.
However, this isn’t a post about the best places to visit in Senegal, although I think that will be coming soon.
7. Morocco
Morocco is one of the safest countries in Africa you can visit in 2025. Other than the general caution against pickpocketing, you have nothing to fear while visiting Morocco.
In fact, at the end of 2024, Morocco took over from Egypt as the most visited country in Africa with over 17.4 million tourists in the year, which is also a 20% increase from the previous year.
It goes without saying that Morocco has so much attractions to offer, my personal favorite being Chefchaouen Medina which is considered to be the Santorini of Morocco.
Morocco is both safe for white tourists and solo female travelers, however, my only advice is to dress appropriately as the country consists of mainly Muslims.
6. Tanzania
Known for the Serengeti National Park and the popular mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania is one African country that continually gets millions of tourists every year. As tourism as one of its major sources of revenue, the government invests in its security making it one of the safest countries to visit.
The places to explore in Tanzania don’t need any introductions, but if you don’t already know them, I wrote a blog post on the places to visit in Tanzania, check them out.
Beyond the wildlife viewing and Mount Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar is also rich in culture, and houses some of the most beautiful beaches that rivals that of the Maldives.
5. Namibia
Namibia for years, has been one of the most visited countries in Africa with numerous tourist attractions like the Sossusvlei, a salt pan that stretches out for miles.
Both white tourists and Africans looking to explore the continent adds this place to their bucketlist destinations and quite frankly, exploring known tourist locations can be a real treat.
The risk of traveling to Namibia is generally low, especially in high tourist areas. However, just like any experienced tourists will tell you, it does not matter how safe it is, you still need to be on your guard and avoid moving alone in the dark.
Beyond the petty crimes, Namibia is actually worth visiting as it has numerous activities you can choose to do even if you’re traveling alone.
4. Zambia
Zambia is home to the great Victoria Falls, or at least a part of it as it shares the falls with Zimbabwe. It’s also one of the safest locations in Africa you can visit.
Zambia currently ranks as number 57 safest country in the world, however, I’d advise you still exercise normal level of caution, like avoiding dark alleys, and not walking alone in lonely places.
Beyond the general opportunistic kind of crimes like pickpocketing, and scamming, Zambia is pretty much a safe destination for all kinds of tourists.
3. Ghana
Ghana, a neighboring country to Nigeria is another safe destination to travel. Its political stability and increased investment in tourism is making it even more safer each day.
With a ranking of 55th safest country in the world, it ranks higher than most countries on this list. While it might not feature any exciting tourist destinations like the victoria falls of Zambia or the serengeti national park or even mount Kilimanjaro, it’s still a nation rich in culture and superstition.
Exploring ghana can increase your knowledge of west Africa and most importantly taste its infamous jollof rice.
2. Botswana
Number 2 on my list would be Botswana. It might not be the most exciting destination unless you’re into wildlife, but it also has some pretty amazing places you can explore like Kalahari Desert and lunar-like pans.
Botswana also ranks number 50 in the global peace indexing ranking, and I’d say it’s pretty much accurate as the crime levels of this country is low.
1. Mauritius
Maybe I chose Mauritius as number one because of how much I enjoyed my visit, or maybe it’s because of how safe it truly is. During my visit, I most likely was more careless in Mauritius than I have ever been in any other country, even forgot my bag inside of a cab at one point and it was returned to me.
But while that’s not enough to judge how safe it is, I’ve reached out to multiple tourists as well who have visited the country and every single one of them has had stellar feedback for it.
It’s also one of the most beautiful African countries I’ve ever visited.
Conclusion
Africa’s bad rep might be well deserved as some countries including my home country Nigeria has significant safety issues. For instance, it’s never advisable to travel by road in Nigeria due to the significant threat of kidnapping. However, these 10 countries on this list are some of the safest countries you could visit with little to no risks.
Rwanda and Mauritius are by far my favorite. While I’m not all too excited about the things Rwanda has to offer, the safety level of this country even in rural areas is something to commend and as such, if you need just one or two countries to visit based on how safe they are, my pick would be Rwanda and Mauritius.
