Homel scores 71 out of 100 (high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 3290 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 Homel safe?

Belarus · Europe · data updated 2026-09-04

71.1High · rank 3290 / 6,168
safer than 47% of ranked cities

Homel is a city in Belarus, home to about 530k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 3,290 of 6,168, with a safety score of 71.1 out of 100, placing it clearly above the global midpoint.

US 4/4 Do not travel UK FCDO advises against all travel to this country

Emergency Ambulance 103 · Fire 101 · Police 102

US State Department: Do not travelOfficial travel advisory level 4 of 4 for Belarus, updated 2025-12-21.
UK FCDO advises against all travel to this countryOfficial UK government travel advice, updated 2026-05-11.

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

How safe is Homel really?

No published homicide figure exists for Homel itself, so the national rate stands in: Belarus recorded 1.5 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Belarus is also one of the more equal societies in the dataset (Gini 24.4), and low inequality is the strongest structural predictor of low city violence in this data.

Homel also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 45 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 31 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss.

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates Belarus at level 4 of 4 - "Do not travel" (updated 2025-12-21). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to this country. 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 Belarus

Terrorism in Belarus · Political situation · Risk of arrest and detention · Military service · Russian military activity · Crime · Belarus-Russia border · Belarus-Ukraine border · Belarus-Poland border · Belarus-Lithuania border · Latvian border · Road travel · Tolls · Road conditions · +10 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 1.5 /100knational rate, 2024
Conflict deaths: 45within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 24.4country, 2020
Human development: HDI 0.824country, 2023
Income: $34,310/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 530kurban centre · 7,065/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 7.6 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 59/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 36/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 31/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 2.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.74Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 12.0 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 93%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 4.7 doctors /1k9.8 hospital beds per 1,000

Natural hazards in Belarus

Flood: 5.8/10EU 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 Belarus as a whole, not Homel specifically.

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%64

Peace25%58

Equality25%90

Development10%82

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 Homel that gives 71.1/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Homel compared with Kyiv

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Homel, red favours Kyiv.
Measure	Homel	Kyiv	Difference
Safety score	71.1	51.9	+19.2 — better for Homel
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	1.5 /100k	3.8 /100k	−2.3 /100k — better for Homel
Conflict deaths within 100 km	45	3,498	−3,453 — better for Homel
Income inequality (Gini)	24.4	25.6	−1.2 — better for Homel
Human development (HDI)	0.824	0.779	+0.045 — better for Homel
Road deaths	7.6 /100k	10.2 /100k	−2.6 /100k — better for Homel
Rule of law	36/100	45/100	−9/100 — better for Kyiv
Corruption perceptions	31/100	36/100	−5/100 — better for Kyiv
Air quality (PM2.5)	12.0 µg/m³	14.9 µg/m³	−2.9 µg/m³ — better for Homel
Natural-hazard risk	2.4/10	5.7/10	−3.3/10 — better for Homel

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 Kyiv →

Nearby cities

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