Think twice.
The Sketch Score rose to 51 today, but the US, UK, and Canada maintain level 2 advisories while Ebola and Meningococcal disease remain active threats.
Governments, one trip
What they're telling their own citizens about Congo
The real score
The breakdown
See it from your perspective
Think twice.
The general Sketch Score, unweighted for any specific traveler.
Don't fall for it
Scams to know
Police bribery
Police officers with low salaries may coerce travelers into paying bribes or abuse their powers. Remain calm, firm, and polite, and do not challenge their authority.
Staying healthy
What to watch out for, health-wise
Active notices
- • Ebola Bundibugyo Virus Disease in Parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- • Meningococcal Disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Vaccines
Recommended:
From people who've been there
Local know-how
Staying safe
- •Authorities: There are numerous police checkpoints throughout the country and it's difficult to know if you're coming across a police checkpoint since many of them are poorly marked.
- •Corruption in the Congolese police is widespread. Since members of the police earn low salaries, it's possible they may coerce you into giving them bribes or they may abuse their powers.
- •As with all authority figures, always remain calm, firm, and polite.
- •Political unrest: The Republic of the Congo is one of the most corrupt and least efficiently governed countries in the world. Corruption, cronyism, and nepotism are widespread.
- •The Congolese have a strained relationship with their government and demonstrations against the government can turn violent.
- •Civil conflict: As aforementioned, many Congolese people are frustrated with their government, and this has often lead to open warfare.
Staying healthy
- •Population estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death ra…
- •The likelihood of getting malaria is very high if effective preventative medication is not taken.
- •Tap water is not drinkable, if it's even running at all.
- •Medical care is substandard throughout the country.
- •Brazzaville has many pharmacies, but Pharmacie Mavré is recommended. Please remember to always check the expiration dates on boxes before purchasing any products.
Adapted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA — edited by travelers, not us.
Right now
In the news the last few days
- US citizen tests positive for Ebola in Congo2026-07-11
- US citizen tests positive for Ebola in Congo – Winnipeg Free Press2026-07-11
- Ebola cases climb to over 1 , 800 in DR Congo as virus spreads to 4th province2026-07-11
- Administrators appointed for Logan Paul and KSI Prime drinks brand Australian company2026-07-10
Pack this, know this
The little things that trip people up
Plug & voltage
C / E · 230V
Driving side
right
Emergency
police: 117 / ambulance: 117 / fire: 118
Show the receipts (10 sources)
- us-state — observed 2026-07-12
- uk-fcdo — observed 2026-07-12
- ca-gac — observed 2026-07-12
- worldbank-political — observed 2026-07-12
- worldbank-policeTrust — observed 2026-07-12
- cdc-health — observed 2026-07-12
- wikivoyage — observed 2026-07-12
- reddit — observed 2026-07-12
- acled-hdx — observed 2026-07-12
- lgbtq-legal-wikipedia — observed 2026-07-12