Is Belgorod safe?
Russia · Europe · data updated 2026-09-04
Belgorod is a city in Russia, home to about 363k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,773 of 6,168, with a safety score of 40.9 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.
Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police)
- Armed conflict nearbyUCDP recorded 8,152 deaths from organized violence within 100 km in 2022-2024 (1,417 events). Crime figures do not capture war risk.
- US State Department: Do not travelOfficial travel advisory level 4 of 4 for Russia, updated 2025-12-28.
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to this countryOfficial UK government travel advice, updated 2026-07-03.
- Elevated homicide rate7.82 homicides per 100,000 per year (national rate), about 3× the global city median.
Deadliest recorded locations nearby
- Vovchansk, Chuhuiv raion269 deaths · 35 events
- Kharkiv172 deaths · 39 events
- village of Velyki Prokhody, north of Kharkiv100 deaths · 1 event
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Belgorod, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.
How safe is Belgorod really?
No published homicide figure exists for Belgorod itself, so the national rate stands in: Russia recorded 7.8 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024 - roughly 3 times the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Russia's income inequality is middling (Gini 33.0) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.
Crime statistics are not the main story here: the Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 8,152 deaths from organized violence - war, armed conflict, militia or cartel fighting - within 100 km of Belgorod across 1,417 events in 2022-2024. That is active-conflict territory, and ordinary crime figures say nothing about it. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Vovchansk, Chuhuiv raion (269 deaths), Kharkiv (172 deaths), village of Velyki Prokhody, north of Kharkiv (100 deaths).
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Russia at level 4 of 4 - "Do not travel" (updated 2025-12-28). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to 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 Russia
Terrorism in Russia · Terrorism in the North Caucasus · Security situation in Russia · Land border crossings · Staying in Russia · Russia’s invasion of Ukraine · Military activity in Kursk Oblast · Foreign fighters · Risk of arrest and detention · Getting help while in detention · Restrictions on publishing and distributing information · International sanctions against Russia · Protests and demonstrations · Protecting your belongings · +28 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Russia — country-level, not specific to Belgorod. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 7.8 /100knational rate, 2024 · ~3× the global city median
- Conflict deaths
- 8,152within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 33.0country, 2023
- Human development
- HDI 0.832country, 2023
- Income
- $49,220/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 363kurban centre · 4,782/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 12.0 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 50/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 37/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 22/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 3.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.72Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 11.6 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 76%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 5.1 doctors /1k6.8 hospital beds per 1,000
Natural hazards in Russia
- Flood
- 8.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 5.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 4.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 4.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Cyclone
- 2.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Russia as a whole, not Belgorod specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Russia (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Russia; 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 Belgorod that gives 40.9/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Belgorod compared with Kharkiv
| Measure | Belgorod | Kharkiv | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 40.9 | 51.1 | −10.2 — better for Kharkiv |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 7.8 /100k | 3.8 /100k | +4.0 /100k — better for Kharkiv |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 8,152 | 4,691 | +3,461 — better for Kharkiv |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 33.0 | 25.6 | +7.4 — better for Kharkiv |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.832 | 0.779 | +0.053 — better for Belgorod |
| Road deaths | 12.0 /100k | 10.2 /100k | +1.8 /100k — better for Kharkiv |
| Rule of law | 37/100 | 45/100 | −8/100 — better for Kharkiv |
| Corruption perceptions | 22/100 | 36/100 | −14/100 — better for Kharkiv |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 11.6 µg/m³ | 14.9 µg/m³ | −3.3 µg/m³ — better for Belgorod |
| Natural-hazard risk | 3.8/10 | 5.7/10 | −1.9/10 — better for Belgorod |
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 Kharkiv →
Nearby cities
- Kharkiv, Ukraine 51.1
- Stary Oskol 52.9
- Kursk 44.8
- Sumy, Ukraine 49.9
- Poltava, Ukraine 58.5
- Kramatorsk, Ukraine 49.1
- Voronezh 57.5
- Dnipro, Ukraine 54.3
See Belgorod on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Europe → · Full travel briefings →