Is Balurghat safe?
India · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04
Balurghat is a city in India, home to about 320k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 3,583 of 6,168, with a safety score of 68.5 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.
Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police)
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country5 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
Deadliest recorded locations nearby
- Northern district of Rangpur; Rangpur City Corporation office; in front of the mini supermarket in Rangpur city6 deaths · 1 event
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Balurghat, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- India-Pakistan border area
- Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir
- Manipur
- travel by air to and from the city of Jammu
- travel within the city of Jammu
Named in the official UK travel advice for India (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Balurghat.
How safe is Balurghat really?
No published homicide figure exists for Balurghat itself, so the national rate stands in: India recorded 2.7 homicides per 100,000 people in 2023 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. India is also one of the more equal societies in the dataset (Gini 25.5), and low inequality is the strongest structural predictor of low city violence in this data.
Balurghat also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 12 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 4 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Northern district of Rangpur; Rangpur City Corporation office; in front of the mini supermarket in Rangpur city (6 deaths).
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates India at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2025-06-15). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of this country, naming 5 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 India
Terrorism in India · Demonstrations and mass gatherings · Protecting your belongings · Scams · Drink and food spiking · Methanol poisoning · Sexual assault · Dress code · Alcohol laws and bans · Smoking and vapes bans · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · Using cameras and binoculars in secure areas · Satellite phones and other devices · Swimming safety · +14 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for India — country-level, not specific to Balurghat. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 2.7 /100knational rate, 2023
- Conflict deaths
- 12within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 25.5country, 2022
- Human development
- HDI 0.685country, 2023
- Income
- $11,600/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 320kurban centre · 13,910/km²
- Nearest airport
- 60 kmSaidpur Airport (SPD) · in Bangladesh
Straight-line distance from the city centre, not drive time. Scheduled-service airports only (OurAirports).
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 15.6 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 52/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 56/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 39/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 5.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.61Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 54.1 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 76%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.7 doctors /1k1.6 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 2 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in India
- Flood
- 9.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 8.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 7.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Cyclone
- 7.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 5.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe India as a whole, not Balurghat specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in India (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in India; 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 Balurghat that gives 68.5/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Balurghat compared with Bogura
| Measure | Balurghat | Bogura | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 68.5 | 69.0 | −0.5 — better for Bogura |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 2.7 /100k | 1.8 /100k | +1.0 /100k — better for Bogura |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 12 | 10 | +2 — better for Bogura |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 25.5 | 30.9 | −5.4 — better for Balurghat |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.685 | 0.685 | ±0.000 |
| Road deaths | 15.6 /100k | 15.3 /100k | +0.3 /100k — better for Bogura |
| Rule of law | 56/100 | 40/100 | +16/100 — better for Balurghat |
| Corruption perceptions | 39/100 | 24/100 | +15/100 — better for Balurghat |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 54.1 µg/m³ | 69.3 µg/m³ | −15.2 µg/m³ — better for Balurghat |
| Natural-hazard risk | 5.2/10 | 5.9/10 | −0.7/10 — better for Balurghat |
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 Bogura →
Nearby cities
- Joypurhat, Bangladesh 68.6
- Dinajpur, Bangladesh 69.9
- Naogaon, Bangladesh 69.3
- Saidpur, Bangladesh 69.9
- Bogura, Bangladesh 69.0
- Rangpur, Bangladesh 69.9
- Naldanga, Bangladesh 68.6
- Gaibandha, Bangladesh 68.6
See Balurghat on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →