World Safety Map

Is La Chorrera safe?

Panama · North America · data updated 2026-09-04

52.7Moderate · rank 5037 / 6,168
safer than 18% of ranked cities

La Chorrera is a city in Panama, home to about 167k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,037 of 6,168, with a safety score of 52.7 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.

Emergency 911 (ambulance, fire, police) · Ambulance 103 · Fire 103 · Police 104

  • Elevated homicide rate12.78 homicides per 100,000 per year (national rate), about 5× the global city median.
  • High income inequalityGini 49.7 puts Panama 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 Panama are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.

How safe is La Chorrera really?

No published homicide figure exists for La Chorrera itself, so the national rate stands in: Panama recorded 13 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024 - roughly 5 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 Panama's Gini of 49.7 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 Panama at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2026-08-18). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Panama 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 Panama

Terrorism in Panama · Political situation · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Sexual assault · Gang-related crime · Personal ID · Curfew in Colón Province · Smoking and e-cigarette bans · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · LGBT+ travellers · Swimming safety · Hiking and mountaineering · Road travel · Driving standards · +3 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate
13 /100knational rate, 2024 · ~5× the global city median
Conflict deaths
0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality
Gini 49.7country, 2024
Human development
HDI 0.839country, 2023
Income
$41,770/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population
167kurban centre · 3,338/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths
13.9 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability
70/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law
52/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions
33/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk
4.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security
0.70Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality
15.1 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water
no dataof the population · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity
1.6 doctors /1k2.0 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria
4 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in Panama

Tsunami
8.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake
7.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought
1.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Panama as a whole, not La Chorrera specifically.

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%27
Peace25%100
Equality25%34
Development10%84

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 La Chorrera that gives 52.7/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

La Chorrera compared with Panama City

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours La Chorrera, red favours Panama City.
MeasureLa ChorreraPanama CityDifference
Safety score52.750.4+2.4 — better for La Chorrera
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate13 /100k18 /100k−5.1 /100k — better for La Chorrera
Conflict deaths within 100 km00±0

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

Nearby cities

See La Chorrera on the interactive map → · Safest cities in North America · Full travel briefings →