Geneva scores 92 out of 100 (very high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 10 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 Geneva safe?

Switzerland · Europe · data updated 2026-09-04

92.0Very high · rank 10 / 6,168
safer than 99% of ranked cities

Geneva is a city in Switzerland, home to about 437k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 10 of 6,168, with a safety score of 92.0 out of 100 - among the safest cities in this dataset.

Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police) · Ambulance 144 · Fire 118 · Police 117

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

How safe is Geneva really?

The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Geneva recorded 0.0 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2022 - well below the global city median. Switzerland's income inequality is middling (Gini 33.8) - 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 UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Switzerland 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 Switzerland

Terrorism in Switzerland · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Illegal drugs · Face-covering ban · Hiking, mountaineering and extreme sports · Skiing and winter sports · Road travel · Tolls · Road conditions · Accessibility · Alpine conditions · Avalanches · Wildfires

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 0.0 /100kcity-measured, 2022
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 33.8country, 2022
Human development: HDI 0.970country, 2023
Income: $101,690/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 437kurban centre · 5,526/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 2.2 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 83/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 87/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 80/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 1.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.88Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 8.3 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 97%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 4.5 doctors /1k4.4 hospital beds per 1,000

Natural hazards in Switzerland

Flood: 5.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake: 4.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

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

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%100

Peace25%100

Equality25%69

Development10%97

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 Geneva that gives 92.0/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Geneva compared with Lyon

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Geneva, red favours Lyon.
Measure	Geneva	Lyon	Difference
Safety score	92.0	89.8	+2.2 — better for Geneva
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	0.0 /100k	0.3 /100k	−0.3 /100k — better for Geneva
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	0	±0
Income inequality (Gini)	33.8	31.8	+2.0 — better for Lyon
Human development (HDI)	0.970	0.920	+0.050 — better for Geneva
Road deaths	2.2 /100k	5.1 /100k	−2.9 /100k — better for Geneva
Rule of law	87/100	74/100	+13/100 — better for Geneva
Corruption perceptions	80/100	66/100	+14/100 — better for Geneva
Air quality (PM2.5)	8.3 µg/m³	8.2 µg/m³	+0.1 µg/m³ — better for Lyon
Natural-hazard risk	1.9/10	2.7/10	−0.8/10 — better for Geneva

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 Lyon →

Nearby cities

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