For expats and logistics companies, it is definitely relatively safer to stay south of the equator. There is some form of armed conflict in around 25% of countries on the African mainland, according to the African Centre for Strategic Studies. This has seen record numbers of Africans forcibly displaced from their homes. The most recent figure of 25 million people displaced is a 500% increase from 2005. While much attention focuses on economic migrants who are trying to cross into Europe, 95% of those who are displaced remain on the continent, according to researcher Wendy Williams. The Swedish Uppsala Conflict Data Program lists the following African countries as recording more than 1 000 fatalities due to conflict over the past year: Syria, Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, Chad, South Sudan, Mali and Libya. Those with less than 1 00 fatalities over the past year include the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Algeria, Burkino Faso, Chad, Mauritania and Morocco. Only the DRC stretches south of the equatorial border. Making the situation more challenging from a logistics perspective is squabbles between countries. Nigeria, for example recently partially closed its border with Benin in an effort to stem the smuggling of rice. It then went on to close its land borders to the movement of all goods from Benin, Niger and Cameroon, effectively banning trade flows with its neighbours. “Border closures are not new in Africa. But Nigeria’s actions raise important concerns about the seriousness and prospects of regional integration in Africa. Nigeria is not alone. Rwanda closed its border with Angola in October, and there are numerous other borders which are affected by internal conflict or diplomatic tiffs and intergovernmental power plays. Jakkie Cilliers of the Institute for Security Studies predicts that the countries likely to continue having high levels of armed violence are Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Sudan, Burundi, Libya, Cameroon, Angola and Chad. “South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Tunisia, Algeria, Kenya and Somalia will probably continue experiencing high levels of political protest and riots, but Ethiopia, Chad, Niger, Cameroon, Rwanda, Madagascar and Angola have higher per capita protest levels,” he states in a recent paper.