Is El Progreso safe?
Honduras · North America · data updated 2026-09-04
El Progreso is a city in Honduras, home to about 142k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,879 of 6,168, with a safety score of 38.8 out of 100 - in the lower part of the ranking, and the numbers below explain why.
Emergency 911 (ambulance, fire, police)
- US State Department: Reconsider travelOfficial travel advisory level 3 of 4 for Honduras, updated 2024-12-09.
- Elevated homicide rate19.2 homicides per 100,000 per year (city-measured), about 7× the global city median.
- High income inequalityGini 45.7 puts Honduras in the most unequal quarter of countries - the strongest structural predictor of city violence in this dataset (street crime and robbery tend to track it).
Deadliest recorded locations nearby
- San Pedro Sula municipality30 deaths · 10 events
- Choloma municipality19 deaths · 8 events
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of El Progreso, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.
How safe is El Progreso really?
The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: El Progreso recorded 19 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2024 - roughly 7 times the global city median. That matters because income inequality is the strongest structural predictor of city violence in this dataset, and Honduras's Gini of 45.7 puts it in the most unequal quarter of countries - conditions under which street crime and robbery tend to be a real concern.
El Progreso also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 65 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 39 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were San Pedro Sula municipality (30 deaths), Choloma municipality (19 deaths).
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Honduras at level 3 of 4 - "Reconsider travel" (updated 2024-12-09). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Honduras 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 Honduras
Terrorism in Honduras · Political situation · Protecting yourself and your belongings · ATM crime · Violent attacks against vehicles · Scams · Personal ID and travel documents · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · LGBT+ travellers · Money · Scuba diving accidents · Road travel · Driving conditions · Air travel · +2 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Honduras — country-level, not specific to El Progreso. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 19 /100kcity-measured, 2024 · ~7× the global city median
- Conflict deaths
- 65within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 45.7country, 2024
- Human development
- HDI 0.645country, 2023
- Income
- $7,270/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 142kurban centre · 5,248/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 16.1 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 56/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 37/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 22/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 5.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.56Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 30.7 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 66%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.5 doctors /1k0.5 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 0 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Honduras
- Earthquake
- 8.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 6.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 5.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 4.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Cyclone
- 4.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Honduras as a whole, not El Progreso specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Honduras (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Honduras; 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 El Progreso that gives 38.8/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
El Progreso compared with San Pedro Sula
| Measure | El Progreso | San Pedro Sula | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 38.8 | 38.8 | ±0.0 |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 19 /100k | 19 /100k | ±0.0 /100k |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 65 | 65 | ±0 |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Honduras, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for San Pedro Sula →
Nearby cities
- Villanueva 38.8
- San Pedro Sula 38.8
- Cofradía 38.8
- Comayagua 37.7
- La Ceiba 46.7
- Tegucigalpa 39.8
- San Miguel, El Salvador 58.0
- Choluteca 37.8
See El Progreso on the interactive map → · Safest cities in North America → · Full travel briefings →