Alor Setar scores 76 out of 100 (high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 2167 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 Alor Setar safe?

Malaysia · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04

76.3High · rank 2167 / 6,168
safer than 65% of ranked cities

Alor Setar is a city in Malaysia, home to about 264k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 2,167 of 6,168, with a safety score of 76.3 out of 100, placing it clearly above the global midpoint.

US 1/4 Exercise normal precautions UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country

Emergency Police and ambulance 999 · Fire 994

UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country1 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
Same-sex activity criminalizedLaw on the books in Malaysia as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.

Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country

Eastern Sabah coastal islands

Named in the official UK travel advice for Malaysia (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Alor Setar.

How safe is Alor Setar really?

The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Alor Setar recorded 0.3 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2018 - well below the global city median. Malaysia's income inequality is middling (Gini 40.7) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.

Alor Setar also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 15 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 9 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss.

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates Malaysia at level 1 of 4 - "Exercise normal precautions" (updated 2026-02-21). The UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country, naming 1 specific areas - listed above with the official advisory linked for exact boundaries and exceptions. 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 Malaysia

Terrorism in Malaysia · Terrorist kidnap · Political situation · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Personal security · Drink spiking · Methanol poisoning · Police reports · Personal ID · Dress code · Ramadan · Illegal drugs penalties · LGBT+ travellers · Watersports and scuba diving · +4 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 0.3 /100kcity-measured, 2018
Conflict deaths: 15within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 40.7country, 2021
Human development: HDI 0.819country, 2023
Income: $40,070/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 264kurban centre · 3,719/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 22.5 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 72/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 63/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 52/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 3.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.74Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 15.9 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 95%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 2.3 doctors /1k2.0 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria: 0 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in Malaysia

Flood: 6.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Tsunami: 5.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 3.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake: 1.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Malaysia as a whole, not Alor Setar specifically.

Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Malaysia (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%93

Peace25%70

Equality25%54

Development10%82

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 Alor Setar that gives 76.3/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Alor Setar compared with Bukit Mertajam

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Alor Setar, red favours Bukit Mertajam.
Measure	Alor Setar	Bukit Mertajam	Difference
Safety score	76.3	74.7	+1.6 — better for Alor Setar
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	0.3 /100k	1.1 /100k	−0.8 /100k — better for Alor Setar
Conflict deaths within 100 km	15	0	+15 — better for Bukit Mertajam

Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Malaysia, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Bukit Mertajam →

Nearby cities

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