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.

Kept in your browser only. Nothing is sent anywhere, and you can change it at any time from the header.

All countries

Botswana

30Caution30 of 100, Caution band, 25 to 49good 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.

Network threat

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

59High59 of 100, High band, 50 to 74

moderate confidence2 independent sources

Why this score (2 sources)

  • ITU Global Cybersecurity Index 2024, Technical pillar: 16.53 of 20.

    International Telecommunication Union, Global Cybersecurity Index · observed 2024-12-31

  • その他、クレジットカードやデビットカードのデータを不正に読み取って多額の引き落としを謀るスキミングが頻発しており、日本人も被害に遭っています。

    Our translation: In addition, skimming, which attempts to make large withdrawals by illegally reading credit card and debit card data, occurs frequently, and Japanese people have also been victimized.

    Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Overseas travel safety information · observed 2026-10-16 · written for JPN nationals · extracted by language model

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?

37Caution37 of 100, Caution band, 25 to 49

good confidence6 independent sources

Why this score (26 sources)

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

Speech and legal exposure

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

30Caution30 of 100, Caution band, 25 to 49

good confidence6 independent sources

Why this score (8 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?

27Caution27 of 100, Caution band, 25 to 49

good confidence3 independent sources

Why this score (4 sources)

  • Freedom House 2026 scored BWA 3 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 BWA 3.75 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 BWA 3.45 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 BWA 0.40 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

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1 excluded source
  • Global Voices (Advox), via a site scoped search, observed 2020-07-01: aged out after 6 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?

23Low23 of 100, Low band, 0 to 24

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)

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Data jurisdiction

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

23Low23 of 100, Low band, 0 to 24

moderate confidence2 independent sourcesEvidence is ageing: contributing sources are weighted at 49% of full strength.

Why this score (2 sources)

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Encryption and VPN legality

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

14Low14 of 100, Low band, 0 to 24

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 BWA 3.71 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).

Trend

02550751002026-08-162026-10-16

The overall score is up 8.6 points over 61 days, from 21.9 to 30.5. 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 Botswana. They are where to look if you want to test what is above against something we did not use.

Sources

This assessment draws on 11 sources: Auswärtiges Amt, Reise- und Sicherheitshinweise; 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; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Overseas travel safety information; 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.