World Safety Map

Is Manbij safe?

Syria · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04

56.1Moderate · rank 4768 / 6,168
safer than 23% of ranked cities

Manbij is a city in Syria, home to about 176k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4,768 of 6,168, with a safety score of 56.1 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.

  • Armed conflict nearbyUCDP recorded 1,386 deaths from organized violence within 100 km in 2022-2024 (497 events). Crime figures do not capture war risk.
  • US State Department: Do not travelOfficial travel advisory level 4 of 4 for Syria, updated 2025-12-10.
  • UK FCDO advises against all travel to this countryOfficial UK government travel advice, updated 2026-09-02.
  • Same-sex activity criminalizedLaw on the books in Syria as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.

Deadliest recorded locations nearby

  • Talet Aqil, Talet Al-Raqib and Tal Al-Dababat near Qabtan Al-Jabal town the villages and towns of Al-Sheikh Aqeil, Anjarah, Bala, Hayr Darkal, Qubtan Al-Jabal, Al-Saloum, Jam’eat Al-Ma’ari, Al-Qasmyah, Kafr Bseen and Ajeil in western Aleppo countryside97 deaths · 1 event
  • Jibreen area near Aleppo International Airport33 deaths · 1 event
  • Khanaser-Aleppo road30 deaths · 1 event

UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Manbij, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.

How safe is Manbij really?

No published homicide figure exists for Manbij itself, so the national rate stands in: Syria recorded 2.1 homicides per 100,000 people in 2010 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Syria is also one of the more equal societies in the dataset (Gini 26.4), and low inequality is the strongest structural predictor of low city violence in this data.

Crime statistics are not the main story here: the Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 1,386 deaths from organized violence - war, armed conflict, militia or cartel fighting - within 100 km of Manbij across 497 events in 2022-2024. That is active-conflict territory, and ordinary crime figures say nothing about it. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Talet Aqil, Talet Al-Raqib and Tal Al-Dababat near Qabtan Al-Jabal town the villages and towns of Al-Sheikh Aqeil, Anjarah, Bala, Hayr Darkal, Qubtan Al-Jabal, Al-Saloum, Jam’eat Al-Ma’ari, Al-Qasmyah, Kafr Bseen and Ajeil in western Aleppo countryside (97 deaths), Jibreen area near Aleppo International Airport (33 deaths), Khanaser-Aleppo road (30 deaths).

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates Syria at level 4 of 4 - "Do not travel" (updated 2025-12-10). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to this country. 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 Syria

Terrorism in Syria · Examples of previous significant attacks include: · Terrorist kidnap · Security situation · Political activity · Journalists in Syria · Unexploded Weapons · Basic services · Sanctions · Criminal kidnapping · Religion · Personal ID · Illegal drugs penalties · Money · +4 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate
2.1 /100knational rate, 2010
Conflict deaths
1,386within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality
Gini 26.4country, 2022
Human development
HDI 0.564country, 2023
Income
$4,740/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population
176kurban centre · 6,531/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths
14.9 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability
25/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law
26/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions
15/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk
7.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security
0.36Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality
32.1 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water
no dataof the population · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity
1.5 doctors /1k1.4 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria
0 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in Syria

Drought
8.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake
7.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Flood
6.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Tsunami
2.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

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

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%59
Peace25%21
Equality25%86
Development10%56

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 Manbij that gives 56.1/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Manbij compared with Gaziantep

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Manbij, red favours Gaziantep.
MeasureManbijGaziantepDifference
Safety score56.149.1+7.0 — better for Manbij
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate2.1 /100k2.4 /100k−0.4 /100k — better for Manbij
Conflict deaths within 100 km1,3861,013+373 — better for Gaziantep
Income inequality (Gini)26.443.7−17.3 — better for Manbij
Human development (HDI)0.5640.853−0.289 — better for Gaziantep
Road deaths14.9 /100k6.7 /100k+8.2 /100k — better for Gaziantep
Rule of law26/10042/100−16/100 — better for Gaziantep
Corruption perceptions15/10031/100−16/100 — better for Gaziantep
Air quality (PM2.5)32.1 µg/m³26.4 µg/m³+5.7 µg/m³ — better for Gaziantep
Natural-hazard risk7.6/105.2/10+2.4/10 — better for Gaziantep

Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Country-level rows describe the two countries, not the cities themselves. Full report for Gaziantep

Nearby cities

See Manbij on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia · Full travel briefings →