Maseru scores 43 out of 100 (moderate safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 5688 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 Maseru safe?

Lesotho · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04

42.7Moderate · rank 5688 / 6,168
safer than 8% of ranked cities

Maseru is a city in Lesotho, home to about 287k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,688 of 6,168, with a safety score of 42.7 out of 100, which lands it in the middle band of the ranking.

Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police)

Very high homicide rate51.8 homicides per 100,000 per year (city-measured), about 19× the global city median.

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

How safe is Maseru really?

The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Maseru recorded 52 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2022 - roughly 19 times the global city median. Lesotho's income inequality is middling (Gini 44.9) - 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 UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Lesotho 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 Lesotho

Terrorism in Lesotho · Political situation · Mugging and violent vehicle crime · Petty theft and burglary · Personal ID · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · LGBT+ travellers · Road travel · Taxis and minibuses

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 52 /100kcity-measured, 2022 · ~19× the global city median
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 44.9country, 2017
Human development: HDI 0.550country, 2023
Income: $3,900/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 287kurban centre · 2,632/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 31.9 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 61/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 50/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 37/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 3.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.61Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 26.4 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 31%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 0.2 doctors /1k1.3 hospital beds per 1,000

Natural hazards in Lesotho

Drought: 6.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Flood: 2.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

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

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%3

Peace25%100

Equality25%45

Development10%55

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 Maseru that gives 42.7/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Maseru compared with Botshabelo-N

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Maseru, red favours Botshabelo-N.
Measure	Maseru	Botshabelo-N	Difference
Safety score	42.7	41.4	+1.3 — better for Maseru
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	52 /100k	40 /100k	+12 /100k — better for Botshabelo-N
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	0	±0
Income inequality (Gini)	44.9	54.1	−9.2 — better for Maseru
Human development (HDI)	0.550	0.741	−0.191 — better for Botshabelo-N
Road deaths	31.9 /100k	22.2 /100k	+9.7 /100k — better for Botshabelo-N
Rule of law	50/100	57/100	−7/100 — better for Botshabelo-N
Corruption perceptions	37/100	41/100	−4/100 — better for Botshabelo-N
Air quality (PM2.5)	26.4 µg/m³	27.7 µg/m³	−1.3 µg/m³ — better for Maseru
Natural-hazard risk	3.7/10	5.2/10	−1.5/10 — better for Maseru

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 Botshabelo-N →

Nearby cities

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