Is Arequipa safe?
Peru · South America · data updated 2026-09-04
Arequipa is a city in Peru, home to about 977k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 3,619 of 6,168, with a safety score of 68.3 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.
Emergency Ambulance 106 · Fire 116 · Police 105
- UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country4 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- Within 20km south of the Peru-Colombia border
- Valley of the Apurímac, Ene, and Mantaro Rivers (VRAEM)
- the Amazon River
- the area of the triple border with Brazil and Colombia from and including the towns of Caballococha in Peru up to the actual triple border at Santa Rosa de Yavari town
Named in the official UK travel advice for Peru (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Arequipa.
How safe is Arequipa really?
The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Arequipa recorded 2.8 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2024 - close to the global city median. Peru's income inequality is middling (Gini 40.1) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Peru at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2025-05-15). The UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country, naming 4 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 Peru
Terrorism in Peru · Political situation · Organised crime · Street crime · Protecting your belongings · Fake taxi drivers · Kidnappings and hold-ups · Sexual assault · Methanol poisoning · Money scams · Personal ID · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · Military photography · LGBT+ travellers · +11 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Peru — country-level, not specific to Arequipa. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 2.8 /100kcity-measured, 2024
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 40.1country, 2024
- Human development
- HDI 0.794country, 2023
- Income
- $17,540/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 977kurban centre · 5,853/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 13.6 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 55/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 48/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 30/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 4.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.70Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 31.1 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 49%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 1.7 doctors /1k1.6 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 3 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Peru
- Earthquake
- 9.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 9.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 6.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 3.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Peru as a whole, not Arequipa specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Peru (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Peru; 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 Arequipa that gives 68.3/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Arequipa compared with La Paz
| Measure | Arequipa | La Paz | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 68.3 | 68.0 | +0.3 — better for Arequipa |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 2.8 /100k | 2.5 /100k | +0.3 /100k — better for La Paz |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 40.1 | 40.9 | −0.8 — better for Arequipa |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.794 | 0.733 | +0.061 — better for Arequipa |
| Road deaths | 13.6 /100k | 21.1 /100k | −7.5 /100k — better for Arequipa |
| Rule of law | 48/100 | 35/100 | +13/100 — better for Arequipa |
| Corruption perceptions | 30/100 | 28/100 | +2/100 — better for Arequipa |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 31.1 µg/m³ | 28.1 µg/m³ | +3.0 µg/m³ — better for La Paz |
| Natural-hazard risk | 4.9/10 | 4.9/10 | ±0.0/10 |
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 La Paz →
Nearby cities
- Puno 60.4
- Juliaca 63.5
- Tacna 64.5
- Arica, Chile 58.5
- Cusco 74.8
- La Paz, Bolivia 68.0
- Iquique, Chile 60.6
- Ayacucho 60.4
See Arequipa on the interactive map → · Safest cities in South America → · Full travel briefings →