Chișinău scores 78 out of 100 (high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 2056 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 Chișinău safe?

Moldova · Europe · data updated 2026-09-04

77.9High · rank 2056 / 6,168
safer than 67% of ranked cities

Chișinău is a city in Moldova, home to about 422k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 2,056 of 6,168, with a safety score of 77.9 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.

US 2/4 Exercise increased caution UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country

Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police)

UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country1 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.

Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country

Transnistria

Named in the official UK travel advice for Moldova (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Chișinău.

How safe is Chișinău really?

No published homicide figure exists for Chișinău itself, so the national rate stands in: Moldova recorded 2.0 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Moldova is also one of the more equal societies in the dataset (Gini 26.8), 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 Moldova at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2026-07-06). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of this country, naming 1 specific areas - listed above with the official advisory linked for exact boundaries and exceptions. 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 Moldova

Terrorism in Moldova · Humanitarian support workers · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Discrimination · Police checks and personal ID · Buying and exporting art and antiques · Using cameras · LGBT+ travellers · Surrogacy · Illegal drugs · Money · Road travel · Road conditions and driving standards · Drink-driving · +2 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 2.0 /100knational rate, 2024
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 26.8country, 2023
Human development: HDI 0.785country, 2023
Income: $19,990/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 422kurban centre · 4,179/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 7.3 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 60/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 54/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 42/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 3.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.82Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 14.9 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 76%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 4.0 doctors /1k5.5 hospital beds per 1,000

Natural hazards in Moldova

Earthquake: 6.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 5.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Flood: 4.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

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

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%60

Peace25%100

Equality25%85

Development10%79

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 Chișinău that gives 77.9/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Chișinău compared with Odesa

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Chișinău, red favours Odesa.
Measure	Chișinău	Odesa	Difference
Safety score	77.9	58.6	+19.3 — better for Chișinău
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	2.0 /100k	3.8 /100k	−1.8 /100k — better for Chișinău
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	301	−301 — better for Chișinău
Income inequality (Gini)	26.8	25.6	+1.2 — better for Odesa
Human development (HDI)	0.785	0.779	+0.006 — better for Chișinău
Road deaths	7.3 /100k	10.2 /100k	−2.9 /100k — better for Chișinău
Rule of law	54/100	45/100	+9/100 — better for Chișinău
Corruption perceptions	42/100	36/100	+6/100 — better for Chișinău
Air quality (PM2.5)	14.9 µg/m³	14.9 µg/m³	±0.0 µg/m³
Natural-hazard risk	3.9/10	5.7/10	−1.8/10 — better for Chișinău

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 Odesa →

Nearby cities

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