Ganja scores 66 out of 100 (high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 3835 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 Ganja safe?

Azerbaijan · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04

66.3High · rank 3835 / 6,168
safer than 38% of ranked cities

Ganja is a city in Azerbaijan, home to about 387k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 3,835 of 6,168, with a safety score of 66.3 out of 100, placing it clearly above the global midpoint.

US 3/4 Reconsider travel UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country

Emergency Ambulance 103 · Fire 101 · Police 102

Armed conflict nearbyUCDP recorded 606 deaths from organized violence within 100 km in 2022-2024 (27 events). Crime figures do not capture war risk.
US State Department: Reconsider travelOfficial travel advisory level 3 of 4 for Azerbaijan, updated 2026-04-27.
UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country3 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.

Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country

Azerbaijan-Armenia border
South-western Azerbaijan (those regions affected by conflict in 2020 and 2023)
The districts (‘rayons’) of Kelbajar, Lachin, Qubadli, Zengilan, Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Khojavand, Shusha, Khojali, Khankendi, Aghdam and Tartar

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

How safe is Ganja really?

The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Ganja recorded 0.9 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2020 - well below the global city median. Azerbaijan is also one of the more equal societies in the dataset (Gini 26.6), and low inequality is the strongest structural predictor of low city violence in this data.

Crime statistics are not the main story here: the Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 606 deaths from organized violence - war, armed conflict, militia or cartel fighting - within 100 km of Ganja across 27 events in 2022-2024. That is active-conflict territory, and ordinary crime figures say nothing about it.

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates Azerbaijan at level 3 of 4 - "Reconsider travel" (updated 2026-04-27). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of this country, naming 3 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 Azerbaijan

Terrorism in Azerbaijan · Armenia-Azerbaijan tensions · Dealing with officials · Bank card fraud · Personal ID · Dress code · Ramadan · Smoking restrictions · Illegal drugs · Using cameras and drones in sensitive locations · LGBT+ travellers · Road travel · Inter-country road travel · Licences and permits · +4 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 0.9 /100kcity-measured, 2020
Conflict deaths: 606within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 26.6country, 2005
Human development: HDI 0.789country, 2023
Income: $25,430/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 387kurban centre · 6,341/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 6.7 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 63/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 49/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 30/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 4.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.65Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 23.7 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 58%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 3.2 doctors /1k3.7 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria: 0 /1k at riskWHO, 2023 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in Azerbaijan

Earthquake: 7.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Flood: 6.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 5.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

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

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%74

Peace25%30

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 Ganja that gives 66.3/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Ganja compared with Yerevan

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Ganja, red favours Yerevan.
Measure	Ganja	Yerevan	Difference
Safety score	66.3	64.9	+1.4 — better for Ganja
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	0.9 /100k	2.1 /100k	−1.2 /100k — better for Ganja
Conflict deaths within 100 km	606	105	+501 — better for Yerevan
Income inequality (Gini)	26.6	27.4	−0.8 — better for Ganja
Human development (HDI)	0.789	0.811	−0.022 — better for Yerevan
Road deaths	6.7 /100k	20.0 /100k	−13.3 /100k — better for Ganja
Rule of law	49/100	55/100	−6/100 — better for Yerevan
Corruption perceptions	30/100	46/100	−16/100 — better for Yerevan
Air quality (PM2.5)	23.7 µg/m³	28.6 µg/m³	−4.9 µg/m³ — better for Ganja
Natural-hazard risk	4.6/10	3.2/10	+1.4/10 — better for Yerevan

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 Yerevan →

Nearby cities

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