Bern scores 77 out of 100 (high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 2120 of 6168 cities worldwide. The score combines the homicide rate, nearby conflict deaths, income equality and human development from published data (UNODC, UCDP, World Bank, UNDP).

Is Bern safe?

Switzerland · Europe · data updated 2026-09-04

77.0High · rank 2120 / 6,168
safer than 66% of ranked cities

Bern is a city in Switzerland, home to about 207k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 2,120 of 6,168, with a safety score of 77.0 out of 100, placing it clearly above the global midpoint.

Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police) · Ambulance 144 · Fire 118 · Police 117

No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for Switzerland are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.

How safe is Bern really?

The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Bern recorded 1.7 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2022 - close to the global city median. Switzerland's income inequality is middling (Gini 33.8) - 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 UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Switzerland without any avoid-travel warning in force. 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 Switzerland

Terrorism in Switzerland · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Illegal drugs · Face-covering ban · Hiking, mountaineering and extreme sports · Skiing and winter sports · Road travel · Tolls · Road conditions · Accessibility · Alpine conditions · Avalanches · Wildfires

Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Switzerland — country-level, not specific to Bern. Read what each one says →

The numbers

Homicide rate: 1.7 /100kcity-measured, 2022
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 33.8country, 2022
Human development: HDI 0.970country, 2023
Income: $101,690/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 207kurban centre · 3,691/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 2.2 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 83/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 87/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 80/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 1.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.88Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 8.3 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 97%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 4.5 doctors /1k4.4 hospital beds per 1,000

Natural hazards in Switzerland

Flood: 5.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake: 4.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Switzerland as a whole, not Bern specifically.

Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Switzerland (as of 2025).

All country-level figures shared by every city in Switzerland; none of them affect the safety score.

How the score works

Low homicide40%62

Peace25%100

Equality25%69

Development10%97

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 Bern that gives 77.0/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Bern compared with Zurich

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Bern, red favours Zurich.
Measure	Bern	Zurich	Difference
Safety score	77.0	80.7	−3.7 — better for Zurich
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	1.7 /100k	1.0 /100k	+0.7 /100k — better for Zurich
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	0	±0

Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Switzerland, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Zurich →

Nearby cities

See Bern on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Europe → · Full travel briefings →