Is Matai safe?
Egypt · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04
Matai is a city in Egypt, home to about 119k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 1,939 of 6,168, with a safety score of 79.6 out of 100, placing it clearly above the global midpoint.
Emergency Ambulance 123 · Fire 180 · Police 122 · Tourist police 126
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country18 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- Egypt-Libya border
- North Sinai
- Northern part of South Sinai
- Eastern part of Ismailiyah Governorate
- Western Desert
- Hala’ib Triangle and Bir Tawil Trapezoid
- Luxor, Qina, Aswan, Abu Simbel and the Valley of the Kings
- the Faiyum Governorate
- the coastal areas between the Nile Delta and Marsa Matruh
- the Marsa Matruh-Siwa road
- the oasis town of Siwa
- the Giza Governorate north-east of the Bahariya Oasis
- the White Desert and Black Desert
- the oasis towns of Bahariya, Farafra, Dakhla (Mut) and Kharga
- the following roads and the desert area between them and the Nile valley: the road between Giza and Farafra and within 50km either side of this road (but FCDO advises against all but essential travel on the road between Bahariya and Siwa)
- the road between Farafra, Dakhla (Mut) and Kharga
- the road between Kharga and Baris
- the road between Baris and Luxor
Named in the official UK travel advice for Egypt (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Matai.
How safe is Matai really?
No published homicide figure exists for Matai itself, so the national rate stands in: Egypt recorded 1.3 homicides per 100,000 people in 2017 - well below the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Egypt is also one of the more equal societies in the dataset (Gini 28.5), and low inequality is the strongest structural predictor of low city violence in this data.
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Egypt at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2025-07-14). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of this country, naming 18 specific areas - listed above with the official advisory linked for exact boundaries and exceptions. 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 Egypt
Terrorism in Egypt · Political situation · Sexual assault and harassment · Protecting your belongings · Scammers and touts at tourist sites · Religion · Ramadan · Personal ID · Dress code · Behaviour in public · Alcohol laws · Illegal drugs penalties · Photography and filming restrictions · Drones · +11 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Egypt — country-level, not specific to Matai. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 1.3 /100knational rate, 2017
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 28.5country, 2021
- Human development
- HDI 0.754country, 2023
- Income
- $19,330/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 119kurban centre · 10,847/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 10.1 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 49/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 44/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 30/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 5.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.62Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 43.1 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 79%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.7 doctors /1k1.1 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 0 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Egypt
- Flood
- 9.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 5.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 4.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 1.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Egypt as a whole, not Matai specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Egypt (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Egypt; 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 Matai that gives 79.6/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Matai compared with Al Minya
| Measure | Matai | Al Minya | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 79.6 | 79.6 | ±0.0 |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 1.3 /100k | 1.3 /100k | ±0.0 /100k |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Egypt, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Al Minya →
Nearby cities
- Beni Mazar 79.6
- Samalut 79.6
- Maghagha 79.6
- Al Minya 79.6
- Shahin 79.6
- Fashn 79.6
- Abu Qurqas 79.6
- Biba 79.6
See Matai on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Africa → · Full travel briefings →