Is Honiara safe?
Solomon Islands · Oceania · data updated 2026-09-04
Honiara is a city in Solomon Islands, home to about 131k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 3,860 of 6,168, with a safety score of 65.8 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.
Emergency Ambulance 111 · Fire 988 · Police 999
- Same-sex activity criminalizedLaw on the books in Solomon Islands as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.
No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for Solomon Islands are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.
How safe is Honiara really?
No published homicide figure exists for Honiara itself, so the national rate stands in: Solomon Islands recorded 3.7 homicides per 100,000 people in 2008 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Solomon Islands's income inequality is middling (Gini 37.1) - 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 Solomon Islands at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2025-04-28). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Solomon Islands 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 Solomon Islands
Terrorism in the Solomon Islands · Political situation · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Personal safety · Swearing · Dress code · ‘Tabu’ sites · Land ownership · Illegal drugs · LGBT+ travellers · Money · Swimming safety · Scuba diving · Tours · +8 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Solomon Islands — country-level, not specific to Honiara. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 3.7 /100knational rate, 2008
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 37.1country, 2012
- Human development
- HDI 0.584country, 2023
- Income
- $2,790/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 131kurban centre · 3,363/km²
- Nearest airport
- 9 kmHoniara International Airport (HIR)
Straight-line distance from the city centre, not drive time. Scheduled-service airports only (OurAirports).
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 16.5 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 79/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 60/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 44/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 4.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.66Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 9.8 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- no dataof the population · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.2 doctors /1k2.7 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 224 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Solomon Islands
- Tsunami
- 7.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 6.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Cyclone
- 3.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 2.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Solomon Islands as a whole, not Honiara specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Solomon Islands (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.
All country-level figures shared by every city in Solomon Islands; 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 Honiara that gives 65.8/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Honiara compared with Brisbane
| Measure | Honiara | Brisbane | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 65.8 | 83.1 | −17.3 — better for Brisbane |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 3.7 /100k | 0.7 /100k | +3.0 /100k — better for Brisbane |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 37.1 | 33.8 | +3.3 — better for Brisbane |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.584 | 0.958 | −0.374 — better for Brisbane |
| Road deaths | 16.5 /100k | 4.9 /100k | +11.6 /100k — better for Brisbane |
| Rule of law | 60/100 | 82/100 | −22/100 — better for Brisbane |
| Corruption perceptions | 44/100 | 76/100 | −32/100 — better for Brisbane |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 9.8 µg/m³ | 6.4 µg/m³ | +3.4 µg/m³ — better for Brisbane |
| Natural-hazard risk | 4.6/10 | 2.4/10 | +2.2/10 — better for Brisbane |
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 Brisbane →
Nearby cities
- Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea 52.9
- Lae, Papua New Guinea 56.6
- Nouméa, New Caledonia 70.4
- Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea 44.8
- Mendi, Papua New Guinea 42.7
- North Lakes, Australia 83.1
- Brisbane, Australia 83.1
- Merauke, Indonesia 84.2
See Honiara on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Oceania → · Full travel briefings →