Is Bangkok safe?
Thailand · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04
Bangkok is a city in Thailand, home to about 18M people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 3,151 of 6,168, with a safety score of 72.3 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.
Emergency 191 (ambulance, fire, police) · Ambulance 1669 · Fire 199 · Police 191 · Tourist police 1155
- UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of this countryOfficial UK government travel advice, updated 2026-06-30.
No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for Thailand are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.
How safe is Bangkok really?
The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Bangkok recorded 2.7 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2015 - close to the global city median. Thailand's income inequality is middling (Gini 33.3) - 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 Thailand at level 1 of 4 - "Exercise normal precautions" (updated 2026-07-06). The UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country. 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 Thailand
Terrorism in Thailand · Political situation · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Violent crime · Sexual assault · Drink spiking, alcohol and assaults · Methanol poisoning · Bank card fraud · Job scams · Criticising the Thai monarchy · Images on social media · Buying property in Thailand · Drones · Gambling – playing cards · +16 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Thailand — country-level, not specific to Bangkok. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 2.7 /100kcity-measured, 2015
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 33.3country, 2024
- Human development
- HDI 0.798country, 2023
- Income
- $25,570/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 18Murban centre · 6,832/km²
- Nearest airport
- 21 kmDon Mueang International Airport (DMK) · also BKK, 28 km
Straight-line distance from the city centre, not drive time. Scheduled-service airports only (OurAirports).
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 32.2 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 54/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 53/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 33/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 4.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.76Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 23.5 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- no dataof the population · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.5 doctors /1k2.4 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 1 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Thailand
- Flood
- 9.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 5.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 5.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 1.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Cyclone
- 1.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Thailand as a whole, not Bangkok specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Thailand (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Thailand; 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 Bangkok that gives 72.3/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Bangkok compared with Thanyaburi
| Measure | Bangkok | Thanyaburi | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 72.3 | 68.3 | +4.0 — better for Bangkok |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 2.7 /100k | 4.8 /100k | −2.1 /100k — better for Bangkok |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Thailand, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Thanyaburi →
Nearby cities
- Thanyaburi 68.3
- Nakhon Pathom 68.3
- Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya 68.3
- Chon Buri 68.3
- Pattaya 68.3
- Lop Buri 68.3
- Sattahip 68.3
- Tha Chang 68.3
See Bangkok on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →