Heerlen scores 84 out of 100 (very high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 243 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 Heerlen safe?

Netherlands · Europe · data updated 2026-09-04

84.2Very high · rank 243 / 6,168
safer than 96% of ranked cities

Heerlen is a city in Netherlands, home to about 198k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 243 of 6,168, with a safety score of 84.2 out of 100 - among the safest cities in this dataset.

US 2/4 Exercise increased caution

Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police)

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

How safe is Heerlen really?

No published homicide figure exists for Heerlen itself, so the national rate stands in: Netherlands recorded 0.7 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024 - well below the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Netherlands is also one of the more equal societies in the dataset (Gini 25.7), and low inequality is the strongest structural predictor of low city violence in this data.

Heerlen also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 3 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 1 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss.

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates Netherlands at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2024-08-08). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Netherlands 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 Netherlands

Terrorism in the Netherlands · Protecting your belongings · Fake police scams · Drug sellers · Drink spiking · Organised crime · Personal ID · Illegal drugs · Canal laws and dangers · Road travel · Driving regulations · Pedestrian safety

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 0.7 /100knational rate, 2024
Conflict deaths: 3within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 25.7country, 2021
Human development: HDI 0.955country, 2023
Income: $85,480/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 198kurban centre · 2,671/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 4.0 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 73/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 86/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 78/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 2.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.91Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 8.6 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 100%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 3.9 doctors /1k2.4 hospital beds per 1,000

Natural hazards in Netherlands

Flood: 8.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake: 1.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

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

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%79

Peace25%85

Equality25%87

Development10%96

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 Heerlen that gives 84.2/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Heerlen compared with Dusseldorf

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Heerlen, red favours Dusseldorf.
Measure	Heerlen	Dusseldorf	Difference
Safety score	84.2	77.5	+6.7 — better for Heerlen
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	0.7 /100k	0.9 /100k	−0.3 /100k — better for Heerlen
Conflict deaths within 100 km	3	3	±0
Income inequality (Gini)	25.7	33.7	−8.0 — better for Heerlen
Human development (HDI)	0.955	0.959	−0.004 — better for Dusseldorf
Road deaths	4.0 /100k	3.8 /100k	+0.2 /100k — better for Dusseldorf
Rule of law	86/100	85/100	+1/100 — better for Heerlen
Corruption perceptions	78/100	77/100	+1/100 — better for Heerlen
Air quality (PM2.5)	8.6 µg/m³	8.8 µg/m³	−0.2 µg/m³ — better for Heerlen
Natural-hazard risk	2.5/10	2.4/10	+0.1/10 — better for Dusseldorf

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 Dusseldorf →

Nearby cities

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