Is Arusha safe?
Tanzania · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04
Arusha is a city in Tanzania, home to about 796k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4,003 of 6,168, with a safety score of 64.5 out of 100, placing it clearly above the global midpoint.
Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police)
- US State Department: Reconsider travelOfficial travel advisory level 3 of 4 for Tanzania, updated 2025-10-30.
- 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 Tanzania as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- Tanzania
Named in the official UK travel advice for Tanzania (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Arusha.
How safe is Arusha really?
No published homicide figure exists for Arusha itself, so the national rate stands in: Tanzania recorded 3.3 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Tanzania's income inequality is middling (Gini 40.5) - 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 Tanzania at level 3 of 4 - "Reconsider travel" (updated 2025-10-30). 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 Tanzania
Terrorism in Tanzania · Social media · Electronic Devices · Violent crime · Sexual Assault · Express kidnap · Protecting your property · Harassment · Religion · Personal ID · Ramadan · Dress code · Environmental laws · Illegal drugs · +14 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Tanzania — country-level, not specific to Arusha. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 3.3 /100knational rate, 2024
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 40.5country, 2018
- Human development
- HDI 0.555country, 2023
- Income
- $4,370/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 796kurban centre · 4,301/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 31.1 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 59/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 48/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 40/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 6.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.62Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 20.2 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 31%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.1 doctors /1k0.8 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 137 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Tanzania
- Drought
- 4.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 4.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 4.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 3.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Tanzania as a whole, not Arusha specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Tanzania (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.
All country-level figures shared by every city in Tanzania; 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 Arusha that gives 64.5/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Arusha compared with Nairobi
| Measure | Arusha | Nairobi | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 64.5 | 58.6 | +5.9 — better for Arusha |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 3.3 /100k | 5.8 /100k | −2.5 /100k — better for Arusha |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 3 | −3 — better for Arusha |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 40.5 | 38.5 | +2.0 — better for Nairobi |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.555 | 0.628 | −0.073 — better for Nairobi |
| Road deaths | 31.1 /100k | 28.3 /100k | +2.8 /100k — better for Nairobi |
| Rule of law | 48/100 | 49/100 | −1/100 — better for Nairobi |
| Corruption perceptions | 40/100 | 30/100 | +10/100 — better for Arusha |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 20.2 µg/m³ | 20.3 µg/m³ | −0.1 µg/m³ — better for Arusha |
| Natural-hazard risk | 6.0/10 | 6.1/10 | −0.1/10 — better for Arusha |
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 Nairobi →
Nearby cities
- Moshi 64.5
- Kitengela, Kenya 58.6
- Ongata Rongai, Kenya 58.6
- Nairobi, Kenya 58.6
- Thika, Kenya 60.2
- Singida 64.5
- Naivasha, Kenya 60.2
- Dodoma 64.5
See Arusha on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Africa → · Full travel briefings →