WorldRisk

Which passport do you hold?

Risk to a traveller depends on their nationality. A country that sanctions your destination, or is sanctioned by it, changes how you are treated on arrival. Choosing here adjusts every score on the site.

We hold travel advice written for four nationalities so far. Selecting anything else shows the neutral baseline, and every page says so where it applies rather than presenting it as an assessment made for you.

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All countries

Burkina Faso

63High63 of 100, High band, 50 to 74good confidence(7/7 dimensions)
What this score means
Extreme75 to 100
Severe and systematic. Device search, interception and detention over online activity are documented rather than theoretical. Reconsider what you carry and what you say.
High50 to 74
Substantial and consistently evidenced measures. Device inspection, monitored networks or restricted services should be expected rather than treated as unlikely.
Caution25 to 49
Some risk, and manageable with precautions. Measures are evidenced but are narrow, inconsistently applied, or the picture is mixed.
Low0 to 24
Ordinary precautions. No systematic device search, network restriction or prosecution of visitors for online speech is evidenced.

Government travel advice is written for one citizenry, so the same country carries a different assessment depending on your passport. Change it in the header.

Showing the baseline, which weights every issuer equally. No government in our corpus publishes travel advice written for you, so this is not addressed to you specifically.

Dimensions

Each dimension is scored independently, because the traveller who cares about legal exposure for what they have posted is often not the one carrying client data. Higher means more risk.

Speech and legal exposure

What legal risk attaches to what I have said online, or say while I am there?

98Extreme98 of 100, Extreme band, 75 to 100

good confidence8 independent sources

Why this score (15 sources)

  • Freedom House 2026 scored BFA 0 of 4 on freedom to express personal views on sensitive topics without fear of surveillance or retribution.

    Freedom House, Freedom in the World · observed 2026-01-01

  • Freedom House 2026 scored BFA 1 of 4 on free and independent media.

    Freedom House, Freedom in the World · observed 2026-01-01

  • V-Dem Digital Society Project 2025 scored BFA 2.65 of 4 on how routinely the government censors political content on social media, where higher is freer.

    V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, Digital Society Project · observed 2025-12-31

  • V-Dem Digital Society Project 2025 scored BFA 0.10 of 4 on how often people are arrested for political content they posted online, where higher is freer.

    V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, Digital Society Project · observed 2025-12-31

  • Burkina Faso - Level 4: Do Not Travel

    US Department of State, Travel Advisories · observed 2026-05-04 · written for USA nationals

  • FCDO advice for Burkina Faso: avoid_all_travel_to_whole_country.

    UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Foreign travel advice · observed 2025-12-10 · written for GBR nationals

  • Burkina Faso: Avoid all travel

    Global Affairs Canada, Travel advice and advisories · observed 2026-10-14 · written for CAN nationals

  • Burkina Faso: Teilreisewarnung: partial travel warning in force

    Auswärtiges Amt, Reise- und Sicherheitshinweise · observed 2026-09-14 · written for DEU nationals

  • This arrest occurred after Kindo publicly criticised a religious freedom bill that was passed on 19th March 2026 by the Council of Ministers.

    CIVICUS Monitor country updates · observed 2026-07-02 · extracted by language model

  • According to sources following the demonstrations, several supporters of the Imam were arrested.

    CIVICUS Monitor country updates · observed 2026-07-02 · extracted by language model

  • Le 10 novembre 2025, lors d’une audience à huis clos, le tribunal de grande instance de Ouagadougou a reconnu l’avocate Benjamine Esther Ini Doli coupable d’« outrage au chef de l’État » et d’« entreprise de démoralisation des forces armées », en vertu des dispositions du Code pénal.

    Our translation: On November 10, 2025, during a closed-door hearing, the Ouagadougou court of first instance found lawyer Benjamine Esther Ini Doli guilty of “insulting the head of state” and “undermining the morale of the armed forces,” under the provisions of the Penal Code.

    CIVICUS Monitor country updates · observed 2026-05-11 · extracted by language model

  • D’après HRW, l’arrestation de Zoungrana serait probablement liée à la divulgation d’une interview.

    Our translation: According to HRW, Zoungrana’s arrest would probably be linked to the disclosure of an interview.

    CIVICUS Monitor country updates · observed 2026-05-11 · extracted by language model

  • On March 24, two National Security Council intelligence agents arrested Pagbelguem at his media outlet to “be questioned” about his March 22 report on an AJB meeting where Sanogo criticized the kidnappings of journalists by the authorities.

    Committee to Protect Journalists, via a site scoped search · observed 2025-04-04 · extracted by language model

  • Under Ibrahim Traoré, who took control of Burkina Faso in a September 2022 coup, authorities have cracked down on the press, with journalists disappearing , foreign correspondents expelled , and broadcasters suspended or banned .

    Committee to Protect Journalists, via a site scoped search · observed 2025-03-27 · extracted by language model

  • On 10th November 2025, during a closed hearing, the Ouagadougou Court of First Instance found lawyer Ini Benjamine Esther Doli guilty of the charges of “insulting the head of state” and “undermining the morale of the armed forces” under the Penal Code.

    CIVICUS Monitor country updates · observed 2026-05-06 · extracted by language model

Report an inaccuracy (corrections need a link to the reporting, statute or research that shows it).

1 excluded source
  • Index on Censorship, via a site scoped search, observed 2024-05-03: aged out after 2 years.

Border device risk

How likely is my device to be searched, imaged, or seized at the border, and can I be compelled to unlock it?

71High71 of 100, High band, 50 to 74

good confidence5 independent sources

No reports were found of devices being searched, imaged or seized at this border, or of travellers being compelled to unlock them. The score below is drawn from general indicators for this country rather than from anything observed about this risk, so it describes an absence of reports rather than evidence that the risk is absent.

What the score rests on (5 indirect sources)

Report an inaccuracy (corrections need a link to the reporting, statute or research that shows it).

Surveillance and interception

How comprehensively are communications intercepted, retained, and monitored, and is commercial spyware in use?

71High71 of 100, High band, 50 to 74

moderate confidence3 independent sources

Why this score (4 sources)

  • Freedom House 2026 scored BFA 0 of 4 on freedom to express personal views on sensitive topics without fear of surveillance or retribution.

    Freedom House, Freedom in the World · observed 2026-01-01

  • V-Dem Digital Society Project 2025 scored BFA 0.46 of 4 on how comprehensively the government monitors social media and private online communication, where higher is freer.

    V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, Digital Society Project · observed 2025-12-31

  • V-Dem Digital Society Project 2025 scored BFA 3.24 of 4 on how far privacy protection law shields communications from government access, where higher is freer. This measures what privacy law permits rather than what monitoring is practised, so it is read here as a constraint on interception rather than a measurement of it.

    V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, Digital Society Project · observed 2025-12-31

  • The World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2025 scored BFA 0.29 of 1 on whether freedom from arbitrary interference with privacy is effectively guaranteed, a measure built from expert assessments of warrantless interception of communications.

    World Justice Project, Rule of Law Index, sub-factor 4.6 · observed 2025-01-01

Report an inaccuracy (corrections need a link to the reporting, statute or research that shows it).

Connectivity continuity

How likely am I to lose access to the internet, or to the specific tools I depend on?

70High70 of 100, High band, 50 to 74

good confidence8 independent sources

Why this score (23 sources)

Report an inaccuracy (corrections need a link to the reporting, statute or research that shows it).

1 excluded source
  • Index on Censorship, via a site scoped search, observed 2024-05-03: aged out after 2 years.

Encryption and VPN legality

Are VPNs and strong encryption lawful, and can I be required to install an application or hand over keys?

55High55 of 100, High band, 50 to 74

moderate confidence1 independent source

No law or enforcement action was found restricting the use of a VPN or strong encryption here. The score below is drawn from general indicators for this country rather than from anything observed about this risk, so it describes an absence of reports rather than evidence that the risk is absent.

What the score rests on (1 indirect source)

  • V-Dem Digital Society Project 2025 scored BFA 1.75 of 4 on whether the government regulates the internet in a way consistent with international human rights standards, where higher is freer. This does not establish whether encryption or VPN use is lawful. It measures internet regulation in general, and is used as indirect evidence because the only survey that reads encryption law directly was published in 2019.

    V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, Digital Society Project · observed 2025-12-31

Report an inaccuracy (corrections need a link to the reporting, statute or research that shows it).

Network threat

How hostile is the network environment to a foreign visitor, from state actors and criminals alike?

24Low24 of 100, Low band, 0 to 24

moderate confidence1 independent sourceEvidence is ageing: contributing sources are weighted at 66% of full strength.

No reports were found of attacks, interception or fraud aimed at visitors using networks here. The score below is drawn from general indicators for this country rather than from anything observed about this risk, so it describes an absence of reports rather than evidence that the risk is absent.

What the score rests on (1 indirect source)

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Data jurisdiction

What happens to corporate or client data I carry into the jurisdiction?

24Low24 of 100, Low band, 0 to 24

moderate confidence1 independent source

Why this score (1 source)

Report an inaccuracy (corrections need a link to the reporting, statute or research that shows it).

Trend

02550751002026-08-162026-10-16

The overall score is up 2.9 points over 61 days, from 60.1 to 63. Most movement is the event overlay decaying rather than anything happening: a news signal loses half its weight every three weeks, so a score drifts back toward its structural baseline on its own. A step that holds is the one worth reading.

Check this yourself

These are not inputs to the score for Burkina Faso. They are where to look if you want to test what is above against something we did not use.

Sources

This assessment draws on 12 sources: Auswärtiges Amt, Reise- und Sicherheitshinweise; CIVICUS Monitor country updates; Committee to Protect Journalists, via a site scoped search; Freedom House, Freedom in the World; Georgia Tech Internet Intelligence Lab, Internet Outage Detection and Analysis; Global Affairs Canada, Travel advice and advisories; International Telecommunication Union, Global Cybersecurity Index; Open Observatory of Network Interference, OONI measurement data; UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Foreign travel advice; US Department of State, Travel Advisories; V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, Digital Society Project; World Justice Project, Rule of Law Index, sub-factor 4.6. Every contributing claim is quoted with its origin and date above. Model version 0.12.0, computed 2026-10-16.

If something here is wrong, say so. Corrections are handled in public, and we correct because the evidence is wrong, not because someone objects.