Dili scores 70 out of 100 (high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 3353 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 Dili safe?

Timor-Leste · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04

70.4High · rank 3353 / 6,168
safer than 46% of ranked cities

Dili is a city in Timor-Leste, home to about 345k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 3,353 of 6,168, with a safety score of 70.4 out of 100, placing it clearly above the global midpoint.

US 2/4 Exercise increased caution

Emergency Ambulance 110 or +670 331 1044 · Fire 115 or +670 331 0340 · Police 112 or +670 331 1380

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

How safe is Dili really?

No published homicide figure exists for Dili itself, so the national rate stands in: Timor-Leste recorded 4.1 homicides per 100,000 people in 2015 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Timor-Leste is also one of the more equal societies in the dataset (Gini 28.7), 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 Timor-Leste at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2026-05-20). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Timor-Leste 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 Timor-Leste

Terrorism in Timor-Leste · Political situation · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Sexual assault · Group fights · Personal ID and travel documents · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · Money · Swimming safety · Road travel · Driving and road conditions · Sea travel · Rainy season · Earthquakes

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 4.1 /100knational rate, 2015
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 28.7country, 2014
Human development: HDI 0.634country, 2023
Income: $5,120/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 345kurban centre · 7,501/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 11.9 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 75/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 46/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 44/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 3.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.67Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 12.0 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: no dataof the population · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 0.8 doctors /1k0.4 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria: 0 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in Timor-Leste

Earthquake: 5.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Tsunami: 3.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 1.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Timor-Leste as a whole, not Dili specifically.

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%47

Peace25%100

Equality25%81

Development10%63

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 Dili that gives 70.4/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Dili compared with Kupang

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Dili, red favours Kupang.
Measure	Dili	Kupang	Difference
Safety score	70.4	84.2	−13.9 — better for Kupang
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	4.1 /100k	0.4 /100k	+3.7 /100k — better for Kupang
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	0	±0
Income inequality (Gini)	28.7	34.4	−5.7 — better for Dili
Human development (HDI)	0.634	0.728	−0.094 — better for Kupang
Road deaths	11.9 /100k	11.3 /100k	+0.6 /100k — better for Kupang
Rule of law	46/100	53/100	−7/100 — better for Kupang
Corruption perceptions	44/100	34/100	+10/100 — better for Dili
Air quality (PM2.5)	12.0 µg/m³	20.8 µg/m³	−8.8 µg/m³ — better for Dili
Natural-hazard risk	3.8/10	4.5/10	−0.7/10 — better for Dili

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 Kupang →

Nearby cities

See Dili on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →