Is Mashhad safe?
Iran · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04
Mashhad is a city in Iran, home to about 5.4M people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 3,380 of 6,168, with a safety score of 69.9 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.
Emergency Ambulance 115 · Fire 125 · Police 110
- US State Department: Do not travelOfficial travel advisory level 4 of 4 for Iran, updated 2025-12-04.
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to this countryOfficial UK government travel advice, updated 2026-08-13.
- Same-sex activity criminalized - death penalty in lawLaw on the books in Iran as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.
No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for Iran are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.
How safe is Mashhad really?
No published homicide figure exists for Mashhad itself, so the national rate stands in: Iran recorded 2.4 homicides per 100,000 people in 2014 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Iran's income inequality is middling (Gini 35.9) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.
Mashhad also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 1 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 2 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss.
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Iran at level 4 of 4 - "Do not travel" (updated 2025-12-04). 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 Iran
Terrorism in Iran · Leaving Iran in an emergency · Consular, welfare and family access while in detention · Protests · Activities that put you at risk · Border areas · Scams · Methanol poisoning · Money · Surrogacy and adoption · Ramadan · Dress codes · Relationships between men and women · LGBT+ relationships · +15 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Iran — country-level, not specific to Mashhad. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 2.4 /100knational rate, 2014
- Conflict deaths
- 1within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 35.9country, 2023
- Human development
- HDI 0.799country, 2023
- Income
- $19,660/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 5.4Murban centre · 11,200/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 21.5 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 39/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 36/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 23/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 5.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.61Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 40.2 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 94%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 1.8 doctors /1k1.9 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 2 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Iran
- Earthquake
- 9.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 7.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 6.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 5.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Cyclone
- 1.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Iran as a whole, not Mashhad specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Iran, with the death penalty applying in law (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.
All country-level figures shared by every city in Iran; none of them affect the safety score.
How the score works
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 Mashhad that gives 69.9/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Mashhad compared with Ashgabat
| Measure | Mashhad | Ashgabat | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 69.9 | 74.7 | −4.8 — better for Ashgabat |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 2.4 /100k | 1.0 /100k | +1.4 /100k — better for Ashgabat |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 1 | 0 | +1 — better for Ashgabat |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 35.9 | 40.8 | −4.9 — better for Mashhad |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.799 | 0.764 | +0.035 — better for Mashhad |
| Road deaths | 21.5 /100k | 13.5 /100k | +8.0 /100k — better for Ashgabat |
| Rule of law | 36/100 | 33/100 | +3/100 — better for Mashhad |
| Corruption perceptions | 23/100 | 17/100 | +6/100 — better for Mashhad |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 40.2 µg/m³ | 31.2 µg/m³ | +9.0 µg/m³ — better for Ashgabat |
| Natural-hazard risk | 5.8/10 | 2.8/10 | +3.0/10 — better for Ashgabat |
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 Ashgabat →
Nearby cities
- Neyshabur 69.9
- Firuzeh 69.9
- Torbat-e Heydarieh 71.8
- Quchan 71.8
- Meshkan 71.8
- Sabzevar 71.8
- Neqab 71.8
- Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 74.7
See Mashhad on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →