Bishkek scores 69 out of 100 (high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 3521 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 Bishkek safe?

Kyrgyzstan · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04

69.1High · rank 3521 / 6,168
safer than 43% of ranked cities

Bishkek is a city in Kyrgyzstan, home to about 1.3M people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 3,521 of 6,168, with a safety score of 69.1 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.

US 1/4 Exercise normal precautions

Emergency Ambulance 103 · Fire 101 · Police 102 · Rescue and emergency 112

Elevated homicide rate6.1 homicides per 100,000 per year (city-measured), about 2× the global city median.

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

How safe is Bishkek really?

The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Bishkek recorded 6.1 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2015 - roughly 2 times the global city median. Kyrgyzstan is also one of the more equal societies in the dataset (Gini 27.5), and low inequality is the strongest structural predictor of low city violence in this data.

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates Kyrgyzstan at level 1 of 4 - "Exercise normal precautions" (updated 2026-02-09). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Kyrgyzstan 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 Kyrgyzstan

Terrorism in Kyrgyzstan · Political situation · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Drink spiking and sexual assault · Ramadan · Personal ID · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · Alcohol laws · E-cigarettes · Prohibited material · Using cameras and drones in secure areas · Social media · LGBT+ travellers · Power cuts · +8 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 6.1 /100kcity-measured, 2015 · ~2× the global city median
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 27.5country, 2024
Human development: HDI 0.720country, 2023
Income: $9,120/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 1.3Murban centre · 8,954/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 12.7 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 57/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 41/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 26/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 3.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.70Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 20.1 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 74%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 1.6 doctors /1k3.7 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria: 0 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in Kyrgyzstan

Earthquake: 7.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 6.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Flood: 4.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

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

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%40

Peace25%100

Equality25%83

Development10%72

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 Bishkek that gives 69.1/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Bishkek compared with Almaty

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Bishkek, red favours Almaty.
Measure	Bishkek	Almaty	Difference
Safety score	69.1	69.8	−0.7 — better for Almaty
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	6.1 /100k	5.7 /100k	+0.4 /100k — better for Almaty
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	0	±0
Income inequality (Gini)	27.5	29.2	−1.7 — better for Bishkek
Human development (HDI)	0.720	0.837	−0.117 — better for Almaty
Road deaths	12.7 /100k	12.7 /100k	±0.0 /100k
Rule of law	41/100	50/100	−9/100 — better for Almaty
Corruption perceptions	26/100	38/100	−12/100 — better for Almaty
Air quality (PM2.5)	20.1 µg/m³	19.6 µg/m³	+0.5 µg/m³ — better for Almaty
Natural-hazard risk	3.6/10	2.6/10	+1.0/10 — better for Almaty

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 Almaty →

Nearby cities

See Bishkek on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →