Kandy scores 70 out of 100 (high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 3371 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 Kandy safe?

Sri Lanka · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04

70.2High · rank 3371 / 6,168
safer than 45% of ranked cities

Kandy is a city in Sri Lanka, home to about 786k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 3,371 of 6,168, with a safety score of 70.2 out of 100, placing it clearly above the global midpoint.

US 2/4 Exercise increased caution

Emergency Ambulance 011 2691111 or 1990 · Fire and Rescue 111 · Emergency Police Mobile Squad 011 5717171 · Tourist Police 011 2421052

Same-sex activity criminalizedLaw on the books in Sri Lanka 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 Sri Lanka are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.

How safe is Kandy really?

No published homicide figure exists for Kandy itself, so the national rate stands in: Sri Lanka recorded 2.5 homicides per 100,000 people in 2022 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Sri Lanka's income inequality is middling (Gini 37.7) - 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 Sri Lanka at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2025-10-08). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Sri Lanka 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 Sri Lanka

Terrorism in Sri Lanka · Political and economic situation · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Bank card fraud · Drink spiking · Sexual assault · Personal ID · Alcohol laws and bans · Smoking and e-cigarette bans · Illegal drugs · Detention and prison sentences · Using cameras, binoculars and drones in secure areas · LGBT+ travellers · Dress codes · +12 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 2.5 /100knational rate, 2022
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 37.7country, 2019
Human development: HDI 0.776country, 2023
Income: $16,750/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 786kurban centre · 2,627/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 19.7 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 60/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 53/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 35/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 3.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.71Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 22.7 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 47%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 1.1 doctors /1k3.9 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria: 0 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in Sri Lanka

Tsunami: 8.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 3.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Cyclone: 2.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Flood: 1.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Sri Lanka as a whole, not Kandy specifically.

Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Sri Lanka (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%56

Peace25%100

Equality25%61

Development10%78

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 Kandy that gives 70.2/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Kandy compared with Colombo

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Kandy, red favours Colombo.
Measure	Kandy	Colombo	Difference
Safety score	70.2	78.2	−8.0 — better for Colombo
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	2.5 /100k	0.8 /100k	+1.7 /100k — better for Colombo
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	0	±0

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

Nearby cities

Matale 70.2
Wennappuwa 70.2
Colombo 78.2
Batticaloa 70.2
Kalmunai 70.2
Akkaraipattu 70.2
Galle 70.2
Matara 70.2

See Kandy on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →