Livingstone scores 56 out of 100 (moderate safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 4806 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 Livingstone safe?

Zambia · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04

55.6Moderate · rank 4806 / 6,168
safer than 22% of ranked cities

Livingstone is a city in Zambia, home to about 204k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4,806 of 6,168, with a safety score of 55.6 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.

US 1/4 Exercise normal precautions

Emergency Police 991 · Ambulance 992 · Fire 993

Elevated homicide rate5.2 homicides per 100,000 per year (national rate).
Same-sex activity criminalizedLaw on the books in Zambia as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.
High income inequalityGini 51.5 puts Zambia 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 Zambia are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.

How safe is Livingstone really?

No published homicide figure exists for Livingstone itself, so the national rate stands in: Zambia recorded 5.2 homicides per 100,000 people in 2015 - close to 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 Zambia's Gini of 51.5 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 Zambia at level 1 of 4 - "Exercise normal precautions" (updated 2023-07-30). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Zambia 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 Zambia

Terrorism in Zambia · Political situation · Crime · Pornography laws · Illegal drugs · Using cameras in secure areas · LGBT+ travellers · Wildlife, animal products and souvenirs · Outdoor activities and adventure tourism · Road travel · Road conditions and driving standards · Buses and minibuses

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 5.2 /100knational rate, 2015
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 51.5country, 2022
Human development: HDI 0.595country, 2023
Income: $3,990/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 204kurban centre · 4,636/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 20.5 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 64/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 47/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 37/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 5.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.57Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 20.2 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: no dataof the population · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 0.3 doctors /1k2.0 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria: 252 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in Zambia

Drought: 5.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Flood: 4.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake: 2.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

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

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%43

Peace25%100

Equality25%30

Development10%60

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 Livingstone that gives 55.6/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Livingstone compared with Lusaka

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Livingstone, red favours Lusaka.
Measure	Livingstone	Lusaka	Difference
Safety score	55.6	55.6	±0.0
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	5.2 /100k	5.2 /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 Zambia, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Lusaka →

Nearby cities

See Livingstone on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Africa → · Full travel briefings →