Is Barlekha safe?
Bangladesh · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04
Barlekha is a city in Bangladesh, home to about 111k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 3,563 of 6,168, with a safety score of 68.8 out of 100, placing it clearly above the global midpoint.
Emergency 999 (ambulance, fire, police)
- US State Department: Reconsider travelOfficial travel advisory level 3 of 4 for Bangladesh, updated 2026-01-19.
- UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country3 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
- Same-sex activity criminalizedLaw on the books in Bangladesh as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.
Deadliest recorded locations nearby
- the Tea Estate of Rashidpur village in Jiribam district5 deaths · 1 event
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Barlekha, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- Rangamati
- Khagrachari
- Bandarban
Named in the official UK travel advice for Bangladesh (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Barlekha.
How safe is Barlekha really?
No published homicide figure exists for Barlekha itself, so the national rate stands in: Bangladesh recorded 1.8 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. Bangladesh is also one of the more equal societies in the dataset (Gini 30.9), and low inequality is the strongest structural predictor of low city violence in this data.
Barlekha also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 11 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 3 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were the Tea Estate of Rashidpur village in Jiribam district (5 deaths).
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Bangladesh at level 3 of 4 - "Reconsider travel" (updated 2026-01-19). The UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country, naming 3 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 Bangladesh
Terrorism in Bangladesh · Political situation · Robbery and violence · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Sexual assault · Methanol poisoning · Dhaka and Sylhet airports · Personal ID · Dress code · Ramadan · British nationals of Bangladeshi origin · Alcohol laws · Illegal drugs penalties · Prison sentences and conditions · +13 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Bangladesh — country-level, not specific to Barlekha. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 1.8 /100knational rate, 2023
- Conflict deaths
- 11within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 30.9country, 2022
- Human development
- HDI 0.685country, 2023
- Income
- $10,710/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 111kurban centre · 3,351/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 15.3 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 41/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 40/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 24/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 5.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.53Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 69.3 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 59%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.7 doctors /1k0.9 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 1 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Bangladesh
- Flood
- 9.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 8.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 8.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Cyclone
- 7.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 1.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Bangladesh as a whole, not Barlekha specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Bangladesh (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.
All country-level figures shared by every city in Bangladesh; 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 Barlekha that gives 68.8/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Barlekha compared with Sylhet
| Measure | Barlekha | Sylhet | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 68.8 | 71.8 | −3.0 — better for Sylhet |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 1.8 /100k | 1.8 /100k | ±0.0 /100k |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 11 | 3 | +8 — better for Sylhet |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Bangladesh, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Sylhet →
Nearby cities
- Beanibazar 68.8
- Golapganj 70.3
- Fenchuganj 71.8
- Zakiganj, India 68.7
- Kulaura 69.9
- Hailakandi, India 67.8
- Sylhet 71.8
- Badarpur, India 68.1
See Barlekha on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →