Is Irbid safe?
Jordan · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04
Irbid is a city in Jordan, home to about 792k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4,593 of 6,168, with a safety score of 57.9 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.
Emergency 911 (ambulance, fire, police)
- Armed conflict nearbyUCDP recorded 3,212 deaths from organized violence within 100 km in 2022-2024 (1,471 events). Crime figures do not capture war risk.
- US State Department: Reconsider travelOfficial travel advisory level 3 of 4 for Jordan, updated 2026-05-03.
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country1 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
Deadliest recorded locations nearby
- Jenin governorate72 deaths · 23 events
- Jenin33 deaths · 12 events
- Tulkarm governorate30 deaths · 14 events
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Irbid, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- Jordan-Syria border
Named in the official UK travel advice for Jordan (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Irbid.
How safe is Irbid really?
No published homicide figure exists for Irbid itself, so the national rate stands in: Jordan 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. Jordan's income inequality is middling (Gini 33.7) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.
Crime statistics are not the main story here: the Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 3,212 deaths from organized violence - war, armed conflict, militia or cartel fighting - within 100 km of Irbid across 1,471 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 Jenin governorate (72 deaths), Jenin (33 deaths), Tulkarm governorate (30 deaths).
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Jordan at level 3 of 4 - "Reconsider travel" (updated 2026-05-03). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of this country, naming 1 specific areas - listed above with the official advisory linked for exact boundaries and exceptions. 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 Jordan
Terrorism in Jordan · Political situation · Demonstrations and mass gatherings · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Methanol poisoning · Sexual assault · Personal ID · Alcohol laws · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · LGBT+ travellers · Unmarried couples living together · Converting people to Christianity · Visiting Petra · Money · +8 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Jordan — country-level, not specific to Irbid. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 0.8 /100knational rate, 2024
- Conflict deaths
- 3,212within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 33.7country, 2010
- Human development
- HDI 0.754country, 2023
- Income
- $12,440/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 792kurban centre · 7,694/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 17.0 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 60/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 60/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 50/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 4.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.69Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 32.6 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 89%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 2.9 doctors /1k1.4 hospital beds per 1,000
Natural hazards in Jordan
- Earthquake
- 7.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 6.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Jordan as a whole, not Irbid specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Jordan (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Jordan; 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 Irbid that gives 57.9/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Irbid compared with Amman
| Measure | Irbid | Amman | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 57.9 | 59.8 | −1.9 — better for Amman |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 0.8 /100k | 1.0 /100k | −0.2 /100k — better for Irbid |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 3,212 | 1,022 | +2,190 — better for Amman |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Jordan, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Amman →
Nearby cities
- Ar Ramtha 58.3
- Daraa, Syria 54.4
- Jerash 60.3
- Al Mafraq 61.1
- Nazareth, Israel 46.1
- Al Salt 59.6
- Amman 59.8
- Nablus, Palestine 66.2
See Irbid on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →