Heraklion scores 81 out of 100 (very high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 1746 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 Heraklion safe?

Greece · Europe · data updated 2026-09-04

81.5Very high · rank 1746 / 6,168
safer than 72% of ranked cities

Heraklion is a city in Greece, home to about 156k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 1,746 of 6,168, with a safety score of 81.5 out of 100, which puts it in the top band of the ranking.

US 1/4 Exercise normal precautions

Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police)

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

How safe is Heraklion really?

No published homicide figure exists for Heraklion itself, so the national rate stands in: Greece recorded 0.8 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. Greece's income inequality is middling (Gini 33.4) - 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 US State Department currently rates Greece at level 1 of 4 - "Exercise normal precautions" (updated 2025-10-22). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Greece 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 Greece

Terrorism in Greece · Political protests · Strikes and demonstrations · Protecting your belongings · Sexual assault · Racially-motivated attacks · Personal ID · Public offences · Alcohol laws and underage drinking · Illegal drugs · Buying goods or services · Carrying weapons · LGBT+ travellers · Military service · +16 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 0.8 /100knational rate, 2024
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 33.4country, 2023
Human development: HDI 0.908country, 2023
Income: $44,310/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 156kurban centre · 4,722/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 8.3 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 68/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 62/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 50/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 2.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.75Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 14.1 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 97%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 6.6 doctors /1k4.3 hospital beds per 1,000

Natural hazards in Greece

Earthquake: 8.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Tsunami: 7.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Flood: 3.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 1.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

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

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%75

Peace25%100

Equality25%70

Development10%91

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 Heraklion that gives 81.5/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Heraklion compared with Athens

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Heraklion, red favours Athens.
Measure	Heraklion	Athens	Difference
Safety score	81.5	81.1	+0.4 — better for Heraklion
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	0.8 /100k	0.9 /100k	−0.1 /100k — better for Heraklion
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	0	±0

Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Greece, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Athens →

Nearby cities

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