Aktau scores 75 out of 100 (high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 2795 of 6168 cities worldwide. The score combines the homicide rate, nearby conflict deaths, income equality and human development from published data (UNODC, UCDP, World Bank, UNDP).

Is Aktau safe?

Kazakhstan · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04

75.4High · rank 2795 / 6,168
safer than 55% of ranked cities

Aktau is a city in Kazakhstan, home to about 311k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 2,795 of 6,168, with a safety score of 75.4 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.

US 1/4 Exercise normal precautions

Emergency Ambulance 103 · Fire 101 · Police 102 · Emergency and rescue service 112

No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for Kazakhstan are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.

How safe is Aktau really?

No published homicide figure exists for Aktau itself, so the national rate stands in: Kazakhstan recorded 2.5 homicides per 100,000 people in 2022 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Kazakhstan is also one of the more equal societies in the dataset (Gini 29.2), and low inequality is the strongest structural predictor of low city violence in this data.

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates Kazakhstan at level 1 of 4 - "Exercise normal precautions" (updated 2026-08-17). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Kazakhstan without any avoid-travel warning in force. Both advisories are country-level: no official source publishes verified neighborhood-level crime guidance for individual cities, which is why this page reports named areas only where an official source names them.

What to watch out for in Kazakhstan

Terrorism in Kazakhstan · Political situation · Robbery and violent crime · Protecting your belongings · Bank card fraud · Drink spiking and sexual assault · Personal ID · Ramadan · Alcohol laws and bans · Smoking and e-cigarette bans · Illegal drugs · Posting on social media · Taking photos in secure areas · Using drones in Kazakhstan · +12 more

Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Kazakhstan — country-level, not specific to Aktau. Read what each one says →

The numbers

Homicide rate: 2.5 /100knational rate, 2022
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 29.2country, 2021
Human development: HDI 0.837country, 2023
Income: $41,090/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 311kurban centre · 3,788/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 12.7 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 61/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 50/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 38/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 2.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.72Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 19.6 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 92%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 3.8 doctors /1k6.5 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria: 0 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in Kazakhstan

Flood: 7.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 6.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake: 5.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Kazakhstan as a whole, not Aktau specifically.

Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Kazakhstan (as of 2025).

All country-level figures shared by every city in Kazakhstan; none of them affect the safety score.

How the score works

Low homicide40%55

Peace25%100

Equality25%80

Development10%84

One fixed, calibrated mix for every city: 40% homicide · 25% peace · 25% equality · 10% HDI. Homicide and conflict deaths are measured outcomes; income inequality carries the structural share because it predicts real city violence far better than national income (which is shown above but scored at zero). Each factor maps to 0-100 against fixed anchors, missing data drops out and is never estimated, and cities with data behind less than half the weighting get “no data” instead of a score. For Aktau that gives 75.4/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Aktau compared with Makhachkala

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Aktau, red favours Makhachkala.
Measure	Aktau	Makhachkala	Difference
Safety score	75.4	57.3	+18.2 — better for Aktau
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	2.5 /100k	7.8 /100k	−5.3 /100k — better for Aktau
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	19	−19 — better for Aktau
Income inequality (Gini)	29.2	33.0	−3.8 — better for Aktau
Human development (HDI)	0.837	0.832	+0.005 — better for Aktau
Road deaths	12.7 /100k	12.0 /100k	+0.7 /100k — better for Makhachkala
Rule of law	50/100	37/100	+13/100 — better for Aktau
Corruption perceptions	38/100	22/100	+16/100 — better for Aktau
Air quality (PM2.5)	19.6 µg/m³	11.6 µg/m³	+8.0 µg/m³ — better for Makhachkala
Natural-hazard risk	2.6/10	3.8/10	−1.2/10 — better for Aktau

Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Country-level rows describe the two countries, not the cities themselves. Full report for Makhachkala →

Nearby cities

See Aktau on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →