Is Homs safe?
Syria · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04
Homs is a city in Syria, home to about 940k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4,786 of 6,168, with a safety score of 55.8 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.
- Armed conflict nearbyUCDP recorded 1,523 deaths from organized violence within 100 km in 2022-2024 (363 events). Crime figures do not capture war risk.
- US State Department: Do not travelOfficial travel advisory level 4 of 4 for Syria, updated 2025-12-10.
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to this countryOfficial UK government travel advice, updated 2026-09-02.
- Same-sex activity criminalizedLaw on the books in Syria as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.
Deadliest recorded locations nearby
- the military college in Homs135 deaths · 1 event
- Hama countryside87 deaths · 1 event
- city of Baalbek28 deaths · 2 events
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Homs, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.
How safe is Homs really?
No published homicide figure exists for Homs itself, so the national rate stands in: Syria recorded 2.1 homicides per 100,000 people in 2010 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Syria is also one of the more equal societies in the dataset (Gini 26.4), and low inequality is the strongest structural predictor of low city violence in this data.
Crime statistics are not the main story here: the Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 1,523 deaths from organized violence - war, armed conflict, militia or cartel fighting - within 100 km of Homs across 363 events in 2022-2024. That is active-conflict territory, and ordinary crime figures say nothing about it. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were the military college in Homs (135 deaths), Hama countryside (87 deaths), city of Baalbek (28 deaths).
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Syria at level 4 of 4 - "Do not travel" (updated 2025-12-10). 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 Syria
Terrorism in Syria · Examples of previous significant attacks include: · Terrorist kidnap · Security situation · Political activity · Journalists in Syria · Unexploded Weapons · Basic services · Sanctions · Criminal kidnapping · Religion · Personal ID · Illegal drugs penalties · Money · +4 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Syria — country-level, not specific to Homs. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 2.1 /100knational rate, 2010
- Conflict deaths
- 1,523within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 26.4country, 2022
- Human development
- HDI 0.564country, 2023
- Income
- $4,740/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 940kurban centre · 8,250/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 14.9 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 25/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 26/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 15/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 7.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.36Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 32.1 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- no dataof the population · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 1.5 doctors /1k1.4 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 0 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Syria
- Drought
- 8.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 7.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 6.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 2.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Syria as a whole, not Homs specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Syria (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.
All country-level figures shared by every city in Syria; 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 Homs that gives 55.8/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Homs compared with Latakia
| Measure | Homs | Latakia | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 55.8 | 56.5 | −0.7 — better for Latakia |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 2.1 /100k | 2.1 /100k | ±0.0 /100k |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 1,523 | 1,190 | +333 — better for Latakia |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Syria, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Latakia →
Nearby cities
- Hama 55.2
- Tartus 56.0
- Tripoli, Lebanon 49.9
- Latakia 56.5
- Zahle, Lebanon 47.7
- Idlib 54.4
- Damascus 52.8
- Beirut, Lebanon 47.8
See Homs on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →