The Burrow
Jul 21, 2026
Crime is a concern for anyone, but some cities have a much greater concern than others around the world.
As home and contents insurance comparison experts, Compare the Market has analysed data for cities across the world, which have been ranked based on survey responses from residents regarding crime and safety. The team also investigated the scores for previous years to see how the cities have changed when it comes to the concerns of residents.
Which cities are the most dangerous crime hotspots, and which are the safest? Join us as we explore that and more, such as which cities are rising through the rankings quickly, and which are dropping the most.
1. Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
The South African city of Pietermaritzburg is the most dangerous city in the world according to the residents surveyed. It has the highest crime index score of 82.8/100 – the highest of all 411 cities analysed in the data. While crime scores had been improving and had decreased from 2019 to 2021, they started rising again through to 2026.
2. Caracas, Venezuela
Caracas is the second most dangerous city in the world. The capital of Venezuela scored 81.4 out of 100. Crime scores peaked in 2021 but have slowly been coming down year after year since.
3. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
The capital of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby, has been ranked third for crime concern at 81.3, just 0.1 points behind Caracas. It has increased 1.3 points since 2019.
4. San Pedro Sula, Honduras
The city of San Pedro Sula in Honduras has seen a decrease in crime concern ratings, but is still one of the biggest crime hotspots on our list. It started at 82.5 but has dropped 3.1 points to 79.4.
5. Memphis, USA
America’s most dangerous city was Memphis, which out of the top five cities listed had the biggest increase, rising 3.7 points to 78.5 overall in 2026.
| Rank | City | 2019 (or earliest year) | 2026 | Change |
| 1 | Pietermaritzburg, South Africa | 82.4 | 82.8 | +0.4 |
| 2 | Caracas, Venezuela | 83.1 | 81.4 | -1.7 |
| 3 | Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | 80.0 | 81.3 | +1.3 |
| 4 | San Pedro Sula, Honduras | 82.5 | 79.4 | -3.1 |
| 5 | Memphis, USA | 74.8 | 78.5 | +3.7 |
| 6 | Salvador, Brazil | 79.7 | 76.5 | -3.2 |
| 7 | Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago | 76.9 | 76.4 | -0.5 |
| 8 | Rosario, Argentina | 68.6 | 75.0 | +6.4 |
| 9 | Guayaquil, Ecuador | 62.6 | 74.4 | +11.8 |
| 10 | Cali, Colombia | 66.1 | 72.0 | +5.9 |
| 11 | Tijuana, Mexico | 60.3 | 71.5 | +11.2 |
To view the full dataset, click here.
1. Minsk, Belarus
Minsk, Belarus, has seen the highest increase in crime rates since 2019. The Belarusian capital increased 26.9 points, now scoring 49.9 points in 2026 based on residents’ concern about crime. This large increase marks a rapid increase in local sentiment towards crime and safety.
2. Irvine, USA
The American city of Irvine saw crime concern ratings more than double from 17.1 in 2019 to 36.0 in 2026, making it the fastest-rising American city in the crime concern index. The next closest American cities were Raleigh with a 15.8 point rise, and Portland with a 13.1 increase.
3. Osaka, Japan
Japanese cities are known for their safety, but Osaka has seen crime concerns among locals rise substantially as crime across Japan has increased in recent years after the pandemic.1 Osaka’s rating has risen from 15.1 to 33.0 in seven years, an increase of 17.9. However, Osaka’s current score is still well below average when compared to the rest of the world.
4. Thessaloniki, Greece
Thessaloniki has seen its crime concern increase almost as much as Osaka’s, rising 17.1 points from 34.9 in 2019 to 52.0 over seven years.
5. San Sebastián, Spain
A coastal resort town by the Bay of Biscay, and close to Spain’s border with France, San Sebastián (or Donostia, as used by local Basque residents) has also seen its crime concern score double, rising from 14.0 to 30.5 in just a few short years – an increase of 16.5 index points.
| Rank | City | 2019 (or earliest year) | 2026 | Change |
| 1 | Minsk, Belarus | 23.0 | 49.9 | +26.9 |
| 2 | Irvine, USA | 17.1 | 36.0 | +18.9 |
| 3 | Osaka, Japan | 15.1 | 33.0 | +17.9 |
| 4 | Thessaloniki, Greece | 34.9 | 52.0 | +17.1 |
| 5 | San Sebastian, Spain | 14.0 | 30.5 | +16.5 |
| 6 | Lyon, France | 43.5 | 59.3 | +15.8 |
| 7 | Basel, Switzerland | 17.1 | 31.4 | +14.3 |
| 8 | Kelowna, Canada | 48.2 | 62.1 | +13.9 |
| 9 | Santiago, Chile | 50.5 | 64.2 | +13.7 |
| 10 | Liege, Belgium | 45.6 | 58.3 | +12.7 |
| 11 | Guayaquil, Ecuador | 62.6 | 74.4 | +11.8 |
To view the full dataset, click here.
1. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Abu Dhabi is the safest city in the world, based on crime concern rankings from locals. In 2019 the capital of the United Arab Emirates scored 11.0, and while it rose to 12.9 after the pandemic, it dropped right back down to 11.1, reflecting a minor increase of 0.1 overall.
2. Doha, Qatar
Doha is the next safest destination in terms of crime, scoring 15.5 overall in 2026. This is a 3.3 point increase from 12.2 back in 2019.
3. Taipei, Taiwan
Moving from the Middle East to Asia, Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, is the third-safest city in our list. The cities’ concern ranking has barely moved at all, going from 15.9 to 16.5 from 2019 to 2026; an overall increase of 0.6.
4. Manama, Bahrain
Manama in Bahrain saw an improvement over the past seven years, dropping 7.5 points from 25.5 to 18.0 points on the crime concern index.
5. Muscat, Oman
Oman’s capital of Muscat was the fifth lowest scoring city when it comes to crime concerns from locals. It started with a score of 24.5, but this dropped 5.8 points to 18.7 in 2026.
| Rank | City | 2019 (or earliest year) | 2026 | Change |
| 1 | Abu Dhabi, UAE | 11.0 | 11.1 | +0.1 |
| 2 | Doha, Qatar | 12.2 | 15.5 | +3.3 |
| 3 | Taipei, Taiwan | 15.9 | 16.5 | +0.6 |
| 4 | Manama, Bahrain | 25.5 | 18.0 | -7.5 |
| 5 | Muscat, Oman | 24.5 | 18.7 | -5.8 |
| 6 | The Hague, Netherlands | 29.4 | 20.0 | -9.4 |
| 7 | Tampere, Finland | 20.9 | 20.4 | -0.5 |
| 8 | Munich, Germany | 17.0 | 21.1 | +4.1 |
| 9 | Trondheim, Norway | 22.3 | 21.1 | -1.2 |
| 10 | Tartu, Estonia | 20.4 | 21.3 | +0.9 |
| 11 | Hong Kong, Hong Kong | 19.3 | 21.4 | +2.1 |
To view the full dataset, click here.
1. Shenzhen, China
Shenzhen in China had a major decrease in crime rating, dropping from 56.6 to 24.9, which is less than half of the score the city had in 2019. Many cities in China have seen decreases in crime rating as well, such as Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai, but none quite as big as the reduction seen in Shenzhen.
2. Almaty, Kazakhstan
Coming up next with a major improvement to community safety is Almaty in Kazakhstan’s south. The city saw an incredible drop from 72.8 to 53.1, a decrease of 19.7 points.
3. Klang, Malaysia
Klang in Malaysia has also seen some big improvements to the city’s crime ratings, decreasing from 71.5 to 54.8, an improvement of 16.7 index points.
4. San Salvador, El Salvador
El Salvador’s government under President Nayib Bukele has cracked down on gang violence and crime, and this has had a measurable impact on crime index scores,2 seeing the capital San Salvador’s score drop from 72.7 to 55.7 – a decrease of 16.4.
5. Catania, Italy
The biggest improvement in crime rating scores from a European city was Catania in Italy, which dropped 13.2 points from 61.7 to 48.5.
| Rank | City | 2019 (or earliest year) | 2026 | Change |
| 1 | Shenzhen, China | 43.3 | 24.9 | -31.6 |
| 2 | Almaty, Kazakhstan | 70.6 | 53.1 | -19.7 |
| 3 | Klang, Malaysia | 71.5 | 54.8 | -16.7 |
| 4 | San Salvador, El Salvador | 72.7 | 55.7 | -16.4 |
| 5 | Catania, Italy | 61.7 | 48.5 | -13.2 |
| 6 | Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | 38.0 | 25.0 | -13.0 |
| 7 | Pattaya, Thailand | 57.1 | 45.9 | -11.2 |
| 8 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | 36.1 | 26.0 | -10.1 |
| 9 | Seoul, South Korea | 34.5 | 24.7 | -9.8 |
| 10 | Drogheda, Ireland | 60.4 | 50.6 | -9.8 |
| 11 | Florianopolis, Brazil | 56.0 | 46.4 | -9.6 |
To view the full dataset, click here.
Australian cities are quite safe overall in comparison to other parts of the world, but some cities and towns do have higher concerns than others. Of the 411 cities included in our study, 15 were from Australia, with Alice Springs ranked the most dangerous.
Alice Springs had a crime concern index of 66.9, while Rockhampton had a score of 66.3, and Darwin scored 62.9. Other high-ranking cities (scoring over 60 on the index) included Cairns and Townsville.
It’s important to know however that Alice Springs has actually seen scores decrease 6.1 points, and Rockhampton has had the biggest improvement of all Australian cities, decreasing 7.2 points.
The city with the biggest increase in concern from locals over time was Newcastle, rising from 37.8 to 47.8, an increase of 10.0 points. This was followed by Cairns, which had an increase of 7.2, rising to 62.1 in 2026.
The safest city in Australia in the ranking was Canberra (scoring 28.2), followed by Adelaide at 33.2 and Hobart at 34.0 out of 100.
If you live in an area that’s considered a dangerous city with high crime rates, this can have an impact on the cost of your home and contents insurance premiums. Chief Executive of General Insurance, Adrian Taylor, explains.
“Insurance costs take risk factors into account, which means if you live in an area that’s seeing crime rates increase, this could lead to you having more expensive home and contents insurance premiums.
“This is especially the case if property crime is a major part of local crime rates, such as break-ins, robberies and theft. Home and contents insurance plays an important role in helping protect you financially if your property is impacted by a break-in. While rising crime can unfortunately impact premiums, having the right level of insurance in place can provide peace of mind and a financial safety net if you’re affected.”
Always read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD) to check for the inclusions, limits and restrictions before purchasing.
Numbeo’s crime index data is collated every six months, at the beginning and the middle of each year, beginning in 2019 up to the start of 2025. Compare the Market collated this bi-annual data and sorted it chronologically for 411 cities across the globe. Any cities with fewer than six data points were excluded from the analysis. For the purpose of the rankings, only the highest-ranking city of each country was counted and listed in the above tables.
References:
A previous report for 2025 is available here.