Western Africa · Capital Abuja
Each opens that government's own advisory for Nigeria — the authoritative version, updated far faster than this page.
Nigeria is Africa's largest economy and its most populous country, and it is a difficult and dangerous place to travel independently. Kidnapping for ransom is widespread and industrialised, affecting Nigerians far more than foreigners but specifically targeting foreigners where they can be reached.
Almost all foreign visitors come for business, to Lagos or Abuja, and move with drivers and fixed arrangements. That is the realistic model here — the risk is not in the cities' streets so much as on the roads between places.
Each region is coloured by the advice that applies to most of it, drawn by hand from the wording of all five government advisories.
This map reads stronger than the world map's colour, and both are right. The world map shades Nigeria by its Atlas Risk Score — 70, High — which blends government advice with crime, health, roads and natural hazards. This map shows the advice alone, and the strongest level anywhere in Nigeria is “do not travel”.
Mapped by hand from the official wording in July 2026; always check the current advisory before you book.
Each pillar is scored 0–100 against every other country. Longer bar = more risk.
Biggest factor here: conflict & terrorism. Armed conflict, political violence and terrorism exposure.
The things worth knowing before you land.
Average daytime high and nightly low for Abuja, over 2010-2019. Bars are rainfall; the colour band is how hot the days get.
Mildest and driest around May to June, and October to December.
Patterns reported repeatedly by travellers and local police. None of this is about individual businesses — it's about set-ups you can learn to spot in seconds.
Uniformed and plain-clothes individuals offer to speed you through immigration, claim a problem with your yellow fever certificate or visa, or ask for a fee to release luggage. The underlying service is free.
How to avoid it: Use an arranged airport pickup. Ask for any charge to be shown in writing on official documentation, and decline to pay cash to an individual.
Genuine checkpoints are numerous and some solicit bribes; criminal groups also set up fake ones, which is a common prelude to robbery or abduction on inter-city routes.
How to avoid it: Do not travel between cities by road after dark. Use a trusted driver who knows the route, keep doors locked, and fly the longer legs.
Nigeria's association with advance-fee fraud is decades old and the in-person versions are aimed at visiting businesspeople: deals requiring an upfront payment, fees to release goods or funds, or property that the seller does not own.
How to avoid it: Never pay upfront to release money or goods. Verify any counterparty independently and take local legal advice before transferring anything.
Skimming at standalone machines, and cards cloned after being taken out of sight to pay.
How to avoid it: Use ATMs inside bank branches during opening hours, keep your card in view when paying, and monitor the account daily.
Specific places that come up again and again — either in government advisories or in traveller reports. Everywhere else in Nigeria is not automatically fine, but these are the areas worth a plan.
Boko Haram and ISWAP. Governments advise against all travel; attacks on civilians, mass abductions and military operations are ongoing.
Mass kidnapping by armed 'bandit' groups, including of schoolchildren. Advice against all travel across most of the region.
Kidnapping targeting oil-sector workers, militancy and piracy in the creeks. Movement is normally by company security arrangement only.
One of the world's worst piracy zones, with crews taken from vessels far offshore.
Extreme congestion, aggressive driving and a serious risk of carjacking in stationary traffic, especially after dark.
Kidnap for ransom occurs across the country, including on the expressways around Lagos and Abuja, at roadblocks, and in mass abductions in the north. Criminal gangs, not only insurgents, run it as a business.
The practical implications: do not drive between cities after dark, do not use public inter-city road transport, avoid publicising your movements, and vary routines if you are staying for any length of time. Fly between cities rather than drive where possible.
Lagos and Abuja airports have a long-documented problem with officials and touts soliciting payments from arriving foreigners for services that are free, or for invented irregularities in documents.
Arrange a meet-and-greet through your hotel or employer, keep your documents in order, stay polite, and do not hand your passport to anyone who is not at an official desk.
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 Nigeria:
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.