Is Kwekwe safe?
Zimbabwe · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04
Kwekwe is a city in Zimbabwe, home to about 136k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4,893 of 6,168, with a safety score of 54.5 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.
Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police) · Landline 0800 3222 911
- Elevated homicide rate6.76 homicides per 100,000 per year (national rate), about 2× the global city median.
- Same-sex activity criminalizedLaw on the books in Zimbabwe as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.
- 1 airline certified in Zimbabwe is banned from EU airspaceThe EU Air Safety List (2026) names one carrier certified in Zimbabwe as failing international safety standards; other carriers certified there are not listed. This covers flights operated by Zimbabwe-certified airlines, typically domestic and regional routes; international carriers flying into Zimbabwe are certified elsewhere and are not affected.
- High income inequalityGini 50.3 puts Zimbabwe in the most unequal quarter of countries - the strongest structural predictor of city violence in this dataset (street crime and robbery tend to track it).
No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for Zimbabwe are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.
How safe is Kwekwe really?
No published homicide figure exists for Kwekwe itself, so the national rate stands in: Zimbabwe recorded 6.8 homicides per 100,000 people in 2022 - roughly 2 times the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. That matters because income inequality is the strongest structural predictor of city violence in this dataset, and Zimbabwe's Gini of 50.3 puts it in the most unequal quarter of countries - conditions under which street crime and robbery tend to be a real concern.
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Zimbabwe at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2023-06-26). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Zimbabwe 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 Zimbabwe
Terrorism in Zimbabwe · Political situation · Blackouts and water rationing · Mobile network and landlines · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Vehicle crime · Personal ID · Illegal drugs · Money · Using cameras and binoculars in secure areas · State House in Harare · Journalism and social media · Dual nationality · Wildlife, animal products and souvenirs · +10 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Zimbabwe — country-level, not specific to Kwekwe. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 6.8 /100knational rate, 2022 · ~2× the global city median
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 50.3country, 2019
- Human development
- HDI 0.598country, 2023
- Income
- $6,390/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 136kurban centre · 3,579/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 41.2 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 49/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 36/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 22/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 4.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.59Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 15.0 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 26%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.1 doctors /1k2.0 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 11 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Zimbabwe
- Drought
- 9.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 3.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 1.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Zimbabwe as a whole, not Kwekwe specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Zimbabwe (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.
The EU bars 1 airline certified in Zimbabwe from European airspace on safety grounds; other carriers certified there are not listed (EU Air Safety List, 2026). This concerns flights operated by Zimbabwe-certified airlines, typically domestic and regional routes, not the international carriers most visitors arrive on. See the airlines listed
All country-level figures shared by every city in Zimbabwe; 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 Kwekwe that gives 54.5/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Kwekwe compared with Harare
| Measure | Kwekwe | Harare | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 54.5 | 54.5 | ±0.0 |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 6.8 /100k | 6.8 /100k | ±0.0 /100k |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Zimbabwe, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Harare →
Nearby cities
- Masvingo 54.5
- Harare 54.5
- Ruwa 54.5
- Bulawayo 54.5
- Mutare 48.8
- Francistown, Botswana 48.7
- Catandica, Mozambique 58.2
- Choma, Zambia 55.6
See Kwekwe on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Africa → · Full travel briefings →