{"license":"CC BY 4.0 — attribution: IsMyTripSafe.com","source":"https://ismytripsafe.com/south-sudan/lith","updatedAt":"2026-07-18T20:37:28.356Z","place":{"city":"Lith","country":"South Sudan","countryCode":"SS","lat":7.1105,"lon":30.35592},"safety":{"score":16,"level":"HIGH_RISK","answer":"Elevated risk — reconsider","saferThanPctOfCountries":5,"confidence":0.81,"caps":[{"max":18,"reason":"Level 4 advisory — \"Do Not Travel\""}],"databaseScore":13,"travellerSentiment":{"score":27,"label":"Effectively no visitor traffic","summary":"There is no meaningful tourist presence to report sentiment; the visitors who do come are aid and oil-sector workers, whose organizations report South Sudan as the world's most dangerous country for their staff, with rising kidnapping and compound attacks.","weightInScore":0.18,"components":[{"label":"Reported feel","score":8,"weight":0.35},{"label":"Robbery risk","score":12,"weight":0.45},{"label":"Pickpocket risk","score":96,"weight":0.2}]},"categories":[{"key":"crime","label":"Crime","score":28,"tier":1},{"key":"sentiment","label":"Traveller Sentiment","score":27,"tier":1},{"key":"advisories","label":"Advisories","score":0,"tier":2},{"key":"stability","label":"Stability","score":34,"tier":2},{"key":"health","label":"Health & Air","score":69,"tier":2}]},"advisories":[{"source":"UK Foreign Office (FCDO)","level":4,"label":"Advises against all travel to parts of the country","updated":"2026-05-26T12:55:03Z","url":"https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/south-sudan"},{"source":"Government of Canada","level":4,"label":"Avoid all travel","updated":"2026-07-29T14:31:46.2003107-04:00","url":"https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/south-sudan"}],"indicators":[{"key":"homicide","label":"Homicide rate","value":13.9825812737537,"display":"14.0 / 100k","year":"2012","score":37,"source":"World Bank Open Data"},{"key":"crime_major_constraint","label":"Crime seen as a major business constraint","value":2.8,"display":"2.8%","year":"2014","score":91,"source":"World Bank Enterprise Surveys"},{"key":"terrorism_deaths_pm","label":"Terrorism deaths (latest year)","value":4.184173192609471,"display":"4.2 / million","year":"2021","score":55,"source":"Global Terrorism Database"},{"key":"road_deaths","label":"Road traffic deaths","value":23.3,"display":"23.3 / 100k","year":"2021","score":35,"source":"WHO Global Health Observatory"},{"key":"stability","label":"Political stability & no terrorism","value":40.4488488,"display":"40/100","year":"2024","score":40,"source":"World Bank Governance Indicators"},{"key":"rule_of_law","label":"Rule of law","value":23.0160749,"display":"23/100","year":"2024","score":23,"source":"World Bank Governance Indicators"},{"key":"corruption","label":"Control of corruption","value":6.061704,"display":"6/100","year":"2024","score":6,"source":"World Bank Governance Indicators"},{"key":"gov_effectiveness","label":"Government effectiveness","value":9.0916193,"display":"9/100","year":"2024","score":9,"source":"World Bank Governance Indicators"},{"key":"regulatory","label":"Regulatory quality","value":24.4315487,"display":"24/100","year":"2024","score":24,"source":"World Bank Governance Indicators"},{"key":"voice","label":"Voice & accountability","value":23.7406403,"display":"24/100","year":"2024","score":24,"source":"World Bank Governance Indicators"},{"key":"air_quality","label":"Air quality","value":57,"display":"US AQI 57 · Moderate","year":null,"score":87,"source":"Open-Meteo Air Quality"},{"key":"health","label":"Travel health notices","value":null,"display":"3 global notices","year":null,"score":92,"source":"CDC Travelers' Health"},{"key":"weather","label":"Extreme weather","value":37,"display":"July: highs ~37°C · high heat, wet spell","year":null,"score":72,"source":"Open-Meteo"},{"key":"natural_hazards","label":"Natural hazards","value":0,"display":"No active alerts · low seismicity","year":null,"score":100,"source":"GDACS / USGS"},{"key":"advisory","label":"Government travel advisory","value":4,"display":"Level 4 — Avoid all travel","year":null,"score":0,"source":"Government of Canada"},{"key":"research_robbery_risk","label":"Mugging & robbery risk","value":1,"display":"Severe risk","year":null,"score":20,"source":"City Web Research"},{"key":"research_pickpocket_risk","label":"Pickpocketing & theft risk","value":4,"display":"Low risk","year":null,"score":92,"source":"City Web Research"},{"key":"research_sentiment_score","label":"Visitor safety sentiment","value":8,"display":"8 / 100 (Effectively no visitor traffic)","year":null,"score":8,"source":"City Web Research"}],"healthNotices":[{"level":"Alert","title":"Global Polio","url":"https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/level2/global-polio"},{"level":"Watch","title":"Global Dengue","url":"https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/level1/dengue-global"},{"level":"Watch","title":"Global Measles","url":"https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/level1/measles-globe"}],"hazardAlerts":[],"fieldResearch":{"verdict":"No — Lith sits in an active conflict zone in rural South Sudan and is not safe for travelers under any normal circumstances.","summary":"Lith is a remote settlement with no mapped hospital within 15 km, in a country where fighting between government forces and opposition groups reignited in 2025 and has worsened through 2026. The governance and crime indicators are so degraded that most aren't even measured, and the surrounding Unity–Jonglei region is currently hit by both armed clashes and seasonal flooding. This is a destination for essential, professionally supported travel only — not tourism.","robberyRisk":{"level":"Severe","note":"Armed robbery, ambushes, carjacking and compound invasions are the dominant crime threats to outsiders across this region, typically by armed men at night or at roadside checkpoints."},"pickpocketRisk":{"level":"Low","note":"Classic pickpocketing barely registers here — there is no tourist crowd to work; the real theft risk is armed, not stealthy."},"safeAreas":[],"avoidAreas":["All rural roads and villages around Lith (armed groups, inter-communal raids, no emergency services)","Mayom County and the Abiemnom area (site of a March 2026 massacre of civilians)","Leer County and southern Unity (recent SSPDF–SPLA-IO clashes plus flood damage to the few health facilities)","Any travel after dark anywhere in the region (checkpoints, armed robbery, no rescue capability)"],"scams":["Fake 'fees' and shakedowns at informal checkpoints — soldiers or militia demanding cash, phones or fuel to let vehicles pass","Bogus 'registration' or 'photography permit' fines from men claiming to be security officials","Unofficial 'fixers' or drivers who sell your itinerary to criminal or armed groups — kidnapping for ransom of foreigners and aid workers has increased"],"zones":[{"name":"Lith village and surrounds","level":"avoid","note":"Remote settlement with no security presence, no hospital within 15 km, and active armed-group movement in the wider area"},{"name":"Bentiu town","level":"caution","note":"Government-held state capital with UNMISS peacekeeping presence nearby — the least-bad base in the region, but still under advisory-level conflict risk"},{"name":"Bentiu IDP camp / UNMISS area (Rubkona)","level":"caution","note":"Humanitarian and peacekeeper presence offers relative protection, but the camp itself is overcrowded and has seen violence at its edges"},{"name":"Rubkona town","level":"avoid","note":"Opposition forces hold influence in rural areas west and south of town; clashes reported in early 2026"},{"name":"Mayom County (incl. Abiemnom area)","level":"avoid","note":"Origin and site of the March 2026 massacre; militia activity ongoing"},{"name":"Leer County","level":"avoid","note":"Recent military confrontations plus flooding that has destroyed health facilities"},{"name":"Guit County","level":"avoid","note":"Contested rural county east of Bentiu with shifting armed-group control"},{"name":"Koch County","level":"avoid","note":"Southern Unity flashpoint with a history of raids on civilians and minimal services"}]}}