Is Aqaba safe?
Jordan · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04
Aqaba is a city in Jordan, home to about 116k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 2,976 of 6,168, with a safety score of 73.6 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.
Emergency 911 (ambulance, fire, police)
- US State Department: Reconsider travelOfficial travel advisory level 3 of 4 for Jordan, updated 2026-05-03.
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country1 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- Jordan-Syria border
Named in the official UK travel advice for Jordan (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Aqaba.
How safe is Aqaba really?
No published homicide figure exists for Aqaba itself, so the national rate stands in: Jordan recorded 0.8 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024 - well below the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Jordan's income inequality is middling (Gini 33.7) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.
Aqaba also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 9 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 2 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss.
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Jordan at level 3 of 4 - "Reconsider travel" (updated 2026-05-03). The UK Foreign Office advises against all 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 Jordan
Terrorism in Jordan · Political situation · Demonstrations and mass gatherings · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Methanol poisoning · Sexual assault · Personal ID · Alcohol laws · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · LGBT+ travellers · Unmarried couples living together · Converting people to Christianity · Visiting Petra · Money · +8 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Jordan — country-level, not specific to Aqaba. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 0.8 /100knational rate, 2024
- Conflict deaths
- 9within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 33.7country, 2010
- Human development
- HDI 0.754country, 2023
- Income
- $12,440/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 116kurban centre · 4,159/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 17.0 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 60/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 60/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 50/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 4.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.69Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 32.6 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 89%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 2.9 doctors /1k1.4 hospital beds per 1,000
Natural hazards in Jordan
- Earthquake
- 7.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 6.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Jordan as a whole, not Aqaba specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Jordan (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Jordan; none of them affect the safety score.
How the score works
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 Aqaba that gives 73.6/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Aqaba compared with Tabuk
| Measure | Aqaba | Tabuk | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 73.6 | 85.7 | −12.1 — better for Tabuk |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 0.8 /100k | 0.8 /100k | +0.0 /100k |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 9 | 0 | +9 — better for Tabuk |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 33.7 | no data | — |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.754 | 0.900 | −0.146 — better for Tabuk |
| Road deaths | 17.0 /100k | 35.9 /100k | −18.9 /100k — better for Aqaba |
| Rule of law | 60/100 | 61/100 | −1/100 — better for Tabuk |
| Corruption perceptions | 50/100 | 57/100 | −7/100 — better for Tabuk |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 32.6 µg/m³ | 73.5 µg/m³ | −40.9 µg/m³ — better for Aqaba |
| Natural-hazard risk | 4.1/10 | 3.1/10 | +1.0/10 — better for Tabuk |
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 Tabuk →
Nearby cities
- Beersheba, Israel 43.5
- Tabuk, Saudi Arabia 85.7
- Khan Yunis, Palestine 60.5
- Arish, Egypt 54.6
- Deir el-Balah, Palestine 60.5
- Hebron, Palestine 52.9
- Gaza, Palestine 60.5
- Ashkelon, Israel 43.5
See Aqaba on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →