London scores 76 out of 100 (high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 2162 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 London safe?

United Kingdom · Europe · data updated 2026-09-04

76.4High · rank 2162 / 6,168
safer than 65% of ranked cities

London is a city in United Kingdom, home to about 10M people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 2,162 of 6,168, with a safety score of 76.4 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.

US 2/4 Exercise increased caution

No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for United Kingdom are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.

How safe is London really?

The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: London recorded 2.0 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2018 - close to the global city median. United Kingdom's income inequality is middling (Gini 32.4) - 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 United Kingdom at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2025-05-07). 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.

The numbers

Homicide rate: 2.0 /100kcity-measured, 2018
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 32.4country, 2021
Human development: HDI 0.946country, 2023
Income: $64,210/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 10Murban centre · 6,328/km²
Nearest airport: 23 kmLondon Heathrow Airport (LHR) · also LGW, 40 km

Straight-line distance from the city centre, not drive time. Scheduled-service airports only (OurAirports).

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 3.2 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 70/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 79/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 70/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 2.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.86Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 9.5 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 100%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 3.3 doctors /1k2.4 hospital beds per 1,000

Natural hazards in United Kingdom

Flood: 5.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Tsunami: 1.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 1.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe United Kingdom as a whole, not London specifically.

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%60

Peace25%100

Equality25%72

Development10%95

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 London that gives 76.4/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

London compared with Grays

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours London, red favours Grays.
Measure	London	Grays	Difference
Safety score	76.4	81.8	−5.4 — better for Grays
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	2.0 /100k	0.9 /100k	+1.1 /100k — better for Grays
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	0	±0

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

Nearby cities

Grays 81.8
Walton-on-Thames 81.8
Slough 81.8
Northfleet 81.8
Basildon 81.8
Crawley 81.8
High Wycombe 81.8
Luton 81.8

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