Bulawayo scores 54 out of 100 (moderate safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 4891 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 Bulawayo safe?

Zimbabwe · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04

54.5Moderate · rank 4891 / 6,168
safer than 21% of ranked cities

Bulawayo is a city in Zimbabwe, home to about 493k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4,891 of 6,168, with a safety score of 54.5 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.

US 2/4 Exercise increased caution

Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police) · Landline 0800 3222 911

Elevated homicide rate6.76 homicides per 100,000 per year (national rate), about 2× the global city median.
Same-sex activity criminalizedLaw on the books in Zimbabwe as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.
High income inequalityGini 50.3 puts Zimbabwe in the most unequal quarter of countries - the strongest structural predictor of city violence in this dataset (street crime and robbery tend to track it).

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

How safe is Bulawayo really?

No published homicide figure exists for Bulawayo itself, so the national rate stands in: Zimbabwe recorded 6.8 homicides per 100,000 people in 2022 - roughly 2 times the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. That matters because income inequality is the strongest structural predictor of city violence in this dataset, and Zimbabwe's Gini of 50.3 puts it in the most unequal quarter of countries - conditions under which street crime and robbery tend to be a real concern.

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates Zimbabwe at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2023-06-26). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Zimbabwe 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 Zimbabwe

Terrorism in Zimbabwe · Political situation · Blackouts and water rationing · Mobile network and landlines · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Vehicle crime · Personal ID · Illegal drugs · Money · Using cameras and binoculars in secure areas · State House in Harare · Journalism and social media · Dual nationality · Wildlife, animal products and souvenirs · +10 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 6.8 /100knational rate, 2022 · ~2× the global city median
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 50.3country, 2019
Human development: HDI 0.598country, 2023
Income: $6,390/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 493kurban centre · 2,848/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 41.2 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 49/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 36/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 22/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 4.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.59Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 15.0 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 26%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 0.1 doctors /1k2.0 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria: 11 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in Zimbabwe

Drought: 9.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Flood: 3.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake: 1.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

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

Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Zimbabwe (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%38

Peace25%100

Equality25%33

Development10%60

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 Bulawayo that gives 54.5/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Bulawayo compared with Harare

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Bulawayo, red favours Harare.
Measure	Bulawayo	Harare	Difference
Safety score	54.5	54.5	±0.0
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	6.8 /100k	6.8 /100k	±0.0 /100k
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	0	±0

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

Nearby cities

See Bulawayo on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Africa → · Full travel briefings →