Travel Risk Atlas

Burundi

Eastern Africa · Capital Gitega

Each opens that government's own advisory for Burundi — the authoritative version, updated far faster than this page.

61.7 High risk
Atlas Risk Score · 194th safest of 220
a grassy field with trees and mountains in the background
Photo: Mika R / Unsplash

Where the risk actually is

Each region is coloured by the advice that applies to most of it, drawn by hand from the wording of all five government advisories. Numbered markers flag localised warnings — usually a border strip or remote interior — that cover only a small part of an otherwise lower-risk region.

Bubanza — Travel with cautionBujumbura Mairie — Travel with cautionBujumbura Rural — Travel with cautionBururi — Travel with cautionCankuzo — Travel with cautionCibitoke — Travel with cautionGitega — Travel with cautionKaruzi — Travel with cautionKayanza — Travel with cautionKirundo — Travel with cautionMakamba — Travel with cautionMuramvya — Travel with cautionMuyinga — Travel with cautionMwaro — Travel with cautionNgozi — Travel with cautionRutana — Travel with cautionRuyigi — Travel with cautionLake TanganyikaLake Kivu1. Kibira National Park and DRC border — Do not travel12. RN6 and RN10 west of Kayanza — Do not travel2
What governments advise Travel with caution Localised warning — see the notes below

This map reads milder than the world map's colour, and both are right. The world map shades Burundi by its Atlas Risk Score — 62, High — which blends government advice with crime, health, roads and natural hazards. This map shows the advice alone, and the strongest level anywhere in Burundi is “travel with caution”.

What the warnings actually cover

  • 1
    Kibira National Park and DRC borderDo not travel. Do-not-travel covers the Mugina, Cibitoke, Bukinyayana, Bubanza and Mpanda communes, plus the RN5 north of Bujumbura airport towards Cibitoke — rebel presence in Kibira National Park and incursions from DRC.
  • 2
    RN6 and RN10 west of KayanzaDo not travel. Do-not-travel on the main roads running west from Kayanza through Kibira National Park towards Cibitoke.

A numbered marker warns about the small area described in its note — the rest of that region carries the base advice. Mapped by hand from the official wording in July 2026; always check the current advisory before you book.

What drives the score

Each pillar is scored 0–100 against every other country. Longer bar = more risk.

Road & transport
10% of score
93/100
212th of 220
Conflict & terrorism
15% of score
86/100
195th of 220
Health & medical
15% of score
71/100
196th of 220
Political stability
10% of score
63/100
197th of 220
Crime
15% of score
53/100
177th of 220
Official advisories
25% of score
47/100
181st of 220
Natural hazards
10% of score · mainly earthquakes
30/100
53rd of 220
Women's safety
not in the score
47/100

Biggest factor here: road & transport. Road deaths per 100,000 people - the risk travellers most underestimate.

Practical facts

The things worth knowing before you land.

Emergency number
117
Police 117
Currency
BIF Fr
Languages
French
Kirundi
Visa (EU passport)
Visa on arrival
US: Visa on arrival · UK: Visa on arrival
Population
14.4m
World Bank 2025
Capital
Gitega
Driving
On the right
35.5 road deaths per 100k
Power
Type C, E
220-240V
Basic water access
66%
Patchy — many households lack it · of residents, not a tap-water verdict
Dialling code
+257
GDP per capita
$234
A rough guide to price levels
Visitors a year
299k
International arrivals, 2017
Malaria risk
9.5/10
INFORM exposure score — see a travel clinic

When to go

Average daytime high and nightly low for Bujumbura, over 2010-2019. Bars are rainfall; the colour band is how hot the days get.

Mildest and driest around May to September.

Daytime high warm hot
Top figure is the average daytime high, below it the average nightly low, and millimetres of rain under each bar. Figures are the average daytime high; bar heights are the month's rainfall. Shaded months are the mild, drier ones. Source: NASA POWER daily observations, 2010-2019, public domain.

Sources for this page

Vaccinations, malaria and outbreaks. This atlas does not give medical advice — it is personal, it changes, and it is the one thing worth getting from a doctor. Both national services publish current advice for Burundi:

Check the official advisory before you book. This page reflects data as of August 2026. Advisories change without warning, and only your own government's advice affects your travel insurance.