Kursk scores 45 out of 100 (moderate safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 5553 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 Kursk safe?

Russia · Europe · data updated 2026-09-04

44.8Moderate · rank 5553 / 6,168
safer than 10% of ranked cities

Kursk is a city in Russia, home to about 291k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,553 of 6,168, with a safety score of 44.8 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.

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

Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police)

Armed conflict nearbyUCDP recorded 1,956 deaths from organized violence within 100 km in 2022-2024 (412 events). Crime figures do not capture war risk.
US State Department: Do not travelOfficial travel advisory level 4 of 4 for Russia, updated 2025-12-28.
UK FCDO advises against all travel to this countryOfficial UK government travel advice, updated 2026-07-03.
Elevated homicide rate7.82 homicides per 100,000 per year (national rate), about 3× the global city median.

Deadliest recorded locations nearby

Zelenyi Shlyakh, Sudzha raion165 deaths · 16 events
Lyubimovka, Korenevo raion123 deaths · 15 events
Plekhovo, Sudzha raion97 deaths · 10 events

UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Kursk, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.

How safe is Kursk really?

No published homicide figure exists for Kursk itself, so the national rate stands in: Russia recorded 7.8 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024 - roughly 3 times the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Russia's income inequality is middling (Gini 33.0) - 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 1,956 deaths from organized violence - war, armed conflict, militia or cartel fighting - within 100 km of Kursk across 412 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 Zelenyi Shlyakh, Sudzha raion (165 deaths), Lyubimovka, Korenevo raion (123 deaths), Plekhovo, Sudzha raion (97 deaths).

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates Russia at level 4 of 4 - "Do not travel" (updated 2025-12-28). 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 Russia

Terrorism in Russia · Terrorism in the North Caucasus · Security situation in Russia · Land border crossings · Staying in Russia · Russia’s invasion of Ukraine · Military activity in Kursk Oblast · Foreign fighters · Risk of arrest and detention · Getting help while in detention · Restrictions on publishing and distributing information · International sanctions against Russia · Protests and demonstrations · Protecting your belongings · +28 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 7.8 /100knational rate, 2024 · ~3× the global city median
Conflict deaths: 1,956within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 33.0country, 2023
Human development: HDI 0.832country, 2023
Income: $49,220/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 291kurban centre · 4,100/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 12.0 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 50/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 37/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 22/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 3.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.72Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 11.6 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 76%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 5.1 doctors /1k6.8 hospital beds per 1,000

Natural hazards in Russia

Flood: 8.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 5.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake: 4.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Tsunami: 4.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Cyclone: 2.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Russia as a whole, not Kursk specifically.

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%36

Peace25%18

Equality25%71

Development10%83

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 Kursk that gives 44.8/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Kursk compared with Kharkiv

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Kursk, red favours Kharkiv.
Measure	Kursk	Kharkiv	Difference
Safety score	44.8	51.1	−6.3 — better for Kharkiv
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	7.8 /100k	3.8 /100k	+4.0 /100k — better for Kharkiv
Conflict deaths within 100 km	1,956	4,691	−2,735 — better for Kursk
Income inequality (Gini)	33.0	25.6	+7.4 — better for Kharkiv
Human development (HDI)	0.832	0.779	+0.053 — better for Kursk
Road deaths	12.0 /100k	10.2 /100k	+1.8 /100k — better for Kharkiv
Rule of law	37/100	45/100	−8/100 — better for Kharkiv
Corruption perceptions	22/100	36/100	−14/100 — better for Kharkiv
Air quality (PM2.5)	11.6 µg/m³	14.9 µg/m³	−3.3 µg/m³ — better for Kursk
Natural-hazard risk	3.8/10	5.7/10	−1.9/10 — better for Kursk

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 Kharkiv →

Nearby cities

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