Is Cochabamba safe?
Bolivia · South America · data updated 2026-09-04
Cochabamba is a city in Bolivia, home to about 1.3M people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 3,774 of 6,168, with a safety score of 67.2 out of 100, placing it clearly above the global midpoint.
Emergency Ambulance 118 · Police 110 · Fire 119
- UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of this countryOfficial UK government travel advice, updated 2026-08-21.
No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for Bolivia are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.
How safe is Cochabamba really?
The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Cochabamba recorded 2.8 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2023 - close to the global city median. Bolivia's income inequality is middling (Gini 40.9) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Bolivia at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2026-04-27). The UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to parts of 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 Bolivia
Terrorism in Bolivia · Protecting your belongings · Criminals impersonating Police Officers · Violent crime · Political Situation · Criminal Kidnap · Sexual assault · Prison tours · Personal ID · Illegal bars · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · Ayahuasca ceremonies · Using cameras and binoculars in remote areas · LGBT+ travellers · +10 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Bolivia — country-level, not specific to Cochabamba. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 2.8 /100kcity-measured, 2023
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 40.9country, 2024
- Human development
- HDI 0.733country, 2023
- Income
- $12,530/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 1.3Murban centre · 4,519/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 21.1 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 57/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 35/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 28/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 4.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.70Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 28.1 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- no dataof the population · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 1.3 doctors /1k1.5 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 4 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Bolivia
- Drought
- 7.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 7.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 5.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Bolivia as a whole, not Cochabamba specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Bolivia (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Bolivia; 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 Cochabamba that gives 67.2/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Cochabamba compared with La Paz
| Measure | Cochabamba | La Paz | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 67.2 | 68.0 | −0.8 — better for La Paz |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 2.8 /100k | 2.5 /100k | +0.3 /100k — better for La Paz |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Bolivia, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for La Paz →
Nearby cities
- Oruro 64.9
- Sucre 72.1
- La Paz 68.0
- Potosí 67.7
- Montero 65.4
- Trinidad 65.4
- Santa Cruz de la Sierra 67.2
- Tacna, Peru 64.5
See Cochabamba on the interactive map → · Safest cities in South America → · Full travel briefings →