Maldonado scores 59 out of 100 (moderate safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 4497 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 Maldonado safe?

Uruguay · South America · data updated 2026-09-04

59.2Moderate · rank 4497 / 6,168
safer than 27% of ranked cities

Maldonado is a city in Uruguay, home to about 102k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4,497 of 6,168, with a safety score of 59.2 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.

US 2/4 Exercise increased caution

Emergency 911 (ambulance, fire, police)

Elevated homicide rate11.28 homicides per 100,000 per year (national rate), about 4× the global city median.

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

How safe is Maldonado really?

No published homicide figure exists for Maldonado itself, so the national rate stands in: Uruguay recorded 11 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024 - roughly 4 times the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Uruguay's income inequality is middling (Gini 40.0) - 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 Uruguay at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2026-07-27). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Uruguay 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 Uruguay

Terrorism in Uruguay · Street crime in Montevideo · Theft from cars in Montevideo · Crime outside Montevideo · Money · Smoking and e-cigarette bans · Marijuana · LGBT+ travellers · Swimming safety · Road travel · Road conditions · Bus terminal · Flooding · Forest fires

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 11 /100knational rate, 2024 · ~4× the global city median
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 40.0country, 2024
Human development: HDI 0.862country, 2023
Income: $36,330/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 102kurban centre · 4,655/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 14.8 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 88/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 73/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 73/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 2.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.82Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 10.9 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: no dataof the population · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 4.7 doctors /1k2.4 hospital beds per 1,000

Natural hazards in Uruguay

Flood: 3.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 3.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

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

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%29

Peace25%100

Equality25%56

Development10%86

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 Maldonado that gives 59.2/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Maldonado compared with Montevideo

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Maldonado, red favours Montevideo.
Measure	Maldonado	Montevideo	Difference
Safety score	59.2	56.5	+2.8 — better for Maldonado
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	11 /100k	17 /100k	−5.4 /100k — better for Maldonado
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	0	±0

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

Nearby cities

See Maldonado on the interactive map → · Safest cities in South America → · Full travel briefings →