Is Guatemala City safe?
Guatemala · North America · data updated 2026-09-04
Guatemala City is a city in Guatemala, home to about 2.8M people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,984 of 6,168, with a safety score of 34.0 out of 100, placing it clearly below the global midpoint.
Emergency Fire and Ambulance 122 or 123 · Police 110
- US State Department: Reconsider travelOfficial travel advisory level 3 of 4 for Guatemala, updated 2026-03-11.
- UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country2 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
- Very high homicide rate46.4 homicides per 100,000 per year (city-measured), about 17× the global city median.
- High income inequalityGini 45.2 puts Guatemala 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
- Bárcenas, Villa Nueva8 deaths · 2 events
- Tiquisate, Escuintla6 deaths · 1 event
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Guatemala City, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- within 5km of the Mexican border from the Pacific Coast up to and including the Gracias a Dios crossing
- to the towns of Santa Ana Huista, San Antonio Huista and La Democracia in the department of Huehuetenango
Named in the official UK travel advice for Guatemala (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Guatemala City.
How safe is Guatemala City really?
The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Guatemala City recorded 46 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2024 - roughly 17 times the global city median. That matters because income inequality is the strongest structural predictor of city violence in this dataset, and Guatemala's Gini of 45.2 puts it in the most unequal quarter of countries - conditions under which street crime and robbery tend to be a real concern.
Guatemala City also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 46 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 21 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Bárcenas, Villa Nueva (8 deaths), Tiquisate, Escuintla (6 deaths).
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Guatemala at level 3 of 4 - "Reconsider travel" (updated 2026-03-11). The UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country, naming 2 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 Guatemala
Terrorism in Guatemala · Political situation · Violent crime · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Buses and coaches · ATM tampering · Fake police officers · Scams · Criminal kidnapping · Personal ID · Alcohol laws and bans · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · Taking photos without permission · LGBT+ travellers · +7 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Guatemala — country-level, not specific to Guatemala City. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 46 /100kcity-measured, 2024 · ~17× the global city median
- Conflict deaths
- 46within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 45.2country, 2023
- Human development
- HDI 0.662country, 2023
- Income
- $15,020/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 2.8Murban centre · 6,196/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 22.9 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 62/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 40/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 26/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 5.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.56Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 29.7 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 49%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 1.3 doctors /1k0.5 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 0 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Guatemala
- Earthquake
- 9.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 6.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 4.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Cyclone
- 3.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 3.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Guatemala as a whole, not Guatemala City specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Guatemala (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Guatemala; 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 Guatemala City that gives 34.0/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Guatemala City compared with San Pedro Sacatepéquez
| Measure | Guatemala City | San Pedro Sacatepéquez | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 34.0 | 34.0 | ±0.0 |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 46 /100k | 46 /100k | ±0.0 /100k |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 46 | 46 | ±0 |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Guatemala, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for San Pedro Sacatepéquez →
Nearby cities
- San Pedro Sacatepéquez 34.0
- Antigua Guatemala 34.0
- Chimaltenango 39.3
- Escuintla 38.9
- Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa 39.0
- Cobán 56.8
- San Pedro Carchá 56.8
- Totonicapán 38.2
See Guatemala City on the interactive map → · Safest cities in North America → · Full travel briefings →