Is Charikar safe?
Afghanistan · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04
Charikar is a city in Afghanistan, home to about 227k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,840 of 6,168, with a safety score of 39.6 out of 100, placing it clearly below the global midpoint.
Emergency 119 (police)
- Armed conflict nearbyUCDP recorded 1,044 deaths from organized violence within 100 km in 2022-2024 (286 events). Crime figures do not capture war risk.
- US State Department: Do not travelOfficial travel advisory level 4 of 4 for Afghanistan, updated 2026-02-19.
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to this countryOfficial UK government travel advice, updated 2026-07-30.
- Same-sex activity criminalized - death penalty in lawLaw on the books in Afghanistan as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.
Deadliest recorded locations nearby
- Kabul city (Khalifa Sahib Mosque)66 deaths · 1 event
- Andarab: attacking from Khoj area of Banu city, Kandi and Kemer Sefid, and Bagh Dara Pol Hesar valley / villages of Taghanak, Khej and Bagh Dara in Andrab, Baghlan province.61 deaths · 1 event
- Khouz-e-Lalan and Jar-e-Houz, as well as Malam Khak and KhouzKhosh Ka56 deaths · 1 event
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Charikar, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.
How safe is Charikar really?
No published homicide figure exists for Charikar itself, so the national rate stands in: Afghanistan recorded 4.2 homicides per 100,000 people in 2023 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average.
Crime statistics are not the main story here: the Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 1,044 deaths from organized violence - war, armed conflict, militia or cartel fighting - within 100 km of Charikar across 286 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 Kabul city (Khalifa Sahib Mosque) (66 deaths), Andarab: attacking from Khoj area of Banu city, Kandi and Kemer Sefid, and Bagh Dara Pol Hesar valley / villages of Taghanak, Khej and Bagh Dara in Andrab, Baghlan province. (61 deaths), Khouz-e-Lalan and Jar-e-Houz, as well as Malam Khak and KhouzKhosh Ka (56 deaths).
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Afghanistan at level 4 of 4 - "Do not travel" (updated 2026-02-19). 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 Afghanistan
Terrorism in Afghanistan · Terrorist kidnap · Tour operators in Afghanistan · Protests · UK government support for detainees · Crime · Criminal kidnaps · Laws on dress · Lack of women’s rights · Ramadan · Illegal food, drugs and alcohol · Mobile phones, internet access and communications · Using cameras in secure areas · LGBT+ travellers · +6 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Afghanistan — country-level, not specific to Charikar. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 4.2 /100knational rate, 2023
- Conflict deaths
- 1,044within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- no datacountry,
- Human development
- HDI 0.496country, 2023
- Income
- $2,250/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 227kurban centre · 11,353/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 15.9 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 28/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 24/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 16/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 7.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.28Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 37.9 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 31%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.3 doctors /1k0.4 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 18 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Afghanistan
- Earthquake
- 8.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 8.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 7.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Afghanistan as a whole, not Charikar specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Afghanistan, 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 Afghanistan; 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 Charikar that gives 39.6/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Charikar compared with Kabul
| Measure | Charikar | Kabul | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 39.6 | 40.7 | −1.1 — better for Kabul |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 4.2 /100k | 4.2 /100k | ±0.0 /100k |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 1,044 | 770 | +274 — better for Kabul |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Afghanistan, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Kabul →
Nearby cities
- Bagram 39.7
- Golbahar 39.4
- Qarabagh 39.7
- Kabul 40.7
- Mihtarlam 39.8
- Puli Khumri 43.3
- Bamian 53.9
- Baghlan 43.4
See Charikar on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →