Travel Risk Atlas

Ethiopia

Eastern Africa · Capital Addis Ababa

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

64.0 High risk
Atlas Risk Score · 197th safest of 220
person in white dress in front of pink building
Photo: mulugeta wolde / 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.

Addis Ababa — Travel with cautionAfar — Travel with cautionAmhara — Do not travelBenshangul-Gumaz — Travel with cautionBenshangul-Gumaz — Travel with cautionBenshangul-Gumaz — Travel with cautionBenshangul-Gumaz — Travel with cautionDire Dawa — Travel with cautionGambela — Do not travelHarari People — Travel with cautionOromiya — Travel with cautionOromiya — Travel with cautionOromiya — Travel with cautionOromiya — Travel with cautionOromiya — Travel with cautionOromiya — Travel with cautionSomali — Travel with cautionSouthern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples — Travel with cautionTigray — Do not travelLake TanaKoka ReservoirKhashm el Girba DamRoseires ReservoirLake TurkanaLake AbayaChew BahirLake ChamoLake Abbe1. Somali and Kenyan borders — Do not travel12. Eritrean and Sudanese borders — Do not travel2
What governments advise Do not travel Travel with caution Localised warning — see the notes below

This map reads stronger than the world map's colour, and both are right. The world map shades Ethiopia by its Atlas Risk Score — 64, High — which blends government advice with crime, health, roads and natural hazards. This map shows the advice alone, and the strongest level anywhere in Ethiopia is “do not travel”.

What the warnings actually cover

  • AmharaDo not travel. Do-not-travel to Tigray, Amhara and Gambela in full. Amhara contains Lalibela, Gondar and Bahir Dar, so the classic northern historical circuit is effectively off-limits.
  • 1
    Somali and Kenyan bordersDo not travel. Do-not-travel within 100km of the Somali border in the Somali region, and within 10km of the Kenyan border, except principal roads and towns.
  • 2
    Eritrean and Sudanese bordersDo not travel. Do-not-travel within 10km of the Eritrean and South Sudanese borders and 20km of the Sudanese border; essential-travel-only for 10–15km from Eritrea.

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.

Conflict & terrorism
15% of score
94/100
209th of 220
Road & transport
10% of score
73/100
184th of 220
Health & medical
15% of score
70/100
195th of 220
Political stability
10% of score
64/100
199th of 220
Official advisories
25% of score
60/100
193rd of 220
Crime
15% of score
46/100
153rd of 220
Natural hazards
10% of score · mainly flooding, drought, earthquakes
37/100
102nd of 220
Women's safety
not in the score
62/100

Biggest factor here: conflict & terrorism. Armed conflict, political violence and terrorism exposure.

Practical facts

The things worth knowing before you land.

Emergency number
911
Reliable mainly in Addis Ababa
Currency
ETB Br
Languages
Amharic
Visa (EU passport)
Visa on arrival
US: Visa on arrival · UK: Visa on arrival
Population
135.5m
World Bank 2025
Capital
Addis Ababa
Driving
On the right
28.2 road deaths per 100k
Power
Type C, F
220-240V
Safely managed water
14%
Most households lack it · of residents, not a tap-water verdict
Dialling code
+251
GDP per capita
$933
A rough guide to price levels
Visitors a year
812k
International arrivals, 2019
Malaria risk
8.8/10
INFORM exposure score — see a travel clinic

When to go

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

Mildest and driest around October to June.

Daytime high warm
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. Ethiopia is big. These numbers describe Addis Ababa only — elsewhere in the country can be nothing like it.

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 Ethiopia:

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.