Bwera scores 35 out of 100 (low safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 5979 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 Bwera safe?

Uganda · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04

34.7Low · rank 5979 / 6,168
safer than 3% of ranked cities

Bwera is a city in Uganda, home to about 119k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,979 of 6,168, with a safety score of 34.7 out of 100 - in the lower part of the ranking, and the numbers below explain why.

US 4/4 Do not travel

Emergency 999 (ambulance, fire, police)

Armed conflict nearbyUCDP recorded 3,256 deaths from organized violence within 100 km in 2022-2024 (693 events). Crime figures do not capture war risk.
US State Department: Do not travelOfficial travel advisory level 4 of 4 for Uganda, updated 2025-12-07.
Elevated homicide rate8.82 homicides per 100,000 per year (national rate), about 3× the global city median.
Same-sex activity criminalized - death penalty in lawLaw on the books in Uganda as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.

Deadliest recorded locations nearby

Beni territory201 deaths · 31 events
Mangambo, Katerrain and Kotaokola 20 km west of the town of Oicha in Beni /three villages in the locality of Babila-Bakaiko, located in the Batangi-Mbau group / several villages of Batangi-Mbau, on the border with the territory of Mambasa in Ituri50 deaths · 1 event
Lhubirira Secondary School in Mpondwe on Uganda’s border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mpondwe town, 2 kms, from the DRC border -> http://www.geonames.org/229006/mpondwe.html44 deaths · 1 event

UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Bwera, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.

How safe is Bwera really?

No published homicide figure exists for Bwera itself, so the national rate stands in: Uganda recorded 8.8 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. Uganda's income inequality is middling (Gini 42.7) - 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 3,256 deaths from organized violence - war, armed conflict, militia or cartel fighting - within 100 km of Bwera across 693 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 Beni territory (201 deaths), Mangambo, Katerrain and Kotaokola 20 km west of the town of Oicha in Beni /three villages in the locality of Babila-Bakaiko, located in the Batangi-Mbau group / several villages of Batangi-Mbau, on the border with the territory of Mambasa in Ituri (50 deaths), Lhubirira Secondary School in Mpondwe on Uganda’s border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mpondwe town, 2 kms, from the DRC border -> http://www.geonames.org/229006/mpondwe.html (44 deaths).

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates Uganda at level 4 of 4 - "Do not travel" (updated 2025-12-07). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Uganda 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 Uganda

Terrorism in Uganda · Political situation · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Vehicle crime · Food and drink spiking · Methanol poisoning · Scams · National cleaning day · Personal ID · Wearing military-style clothing · Helping children on Kampala’s streets · Smoking and e-cigarette bans · Illegal drug penalties · Using cameras in secure areas · +7 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 8.8 /100knational rate, 2024 · ~3× the global city median
Conflict deaths: 3,256within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 42.7country, 2019
Human development: HDI 0.582country, 2023
Income: $3,410/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 119kurban centre · 2,963/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 29.4 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 48/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 44/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 25/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 6.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.59Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 31.2 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 18%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 0.2 doctors /1k0.5 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria: 264 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in Uganda

Drought: 7.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Flood: 3.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake: 3.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

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

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%34

Peace25%12

Equality25%50

Development10%58

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 Bwera that gives 34.7/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Bwera compared with Beni

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Bwera, red favours Beni.
Measure	Bwera	Beni	Difference
Safety score	34.7	30.3	+4.4 — better for Bwera
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	8.8 /100k	no data	—
Conflict deaths within 100 km	3,256	5,339	−2,083 — better for Bwera
Income inequality (Gini)	42.7	44.7	−2.0 — better for Bwera
Human development (HDI)	0.582	0.522	+0.060 — better for Bwera
Road deaths	29.4 /100k	34.9 /100k	−5.5 /100k — better for Bwera
Rule of law	44/100	29/100	+15/100 — better for Bwera
Corruption perceptions	25/100	20/100	+5/100 — better for Bwera
Air quality (PM2.5)	31.2 µg/m³	35.8 µg/m³	−4.6 µg/m³ — better for Bwera
Natural-hazard risk	6.7/10	8.0/10	−1.3/10 — better for Bwera

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 Beni →

Nearby cities

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