Is Montepuez safe?
Mozambique · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04
Montepuez is a city in Mozambique, home to about 114k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,575 of 6,168, with a safety score of 44.6 out of 100, which lands it in the middle band of the ranking.
Emergency Ambulance 848888 or 823388 · Fire 198 · Police 112
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country3 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
- High income inequalityGini 49.6 puts Mozambique in the most unequal quarter of countries - the strongest structural predictor of city violence in this dataset (street crime and robbery tend to track it).
Deadliest recorded locations nearby
- Nacuale, west of Ancuabe town18 deaths · 1 event
- Metoro administrative post, in Ancuabe district,11 deaths · 1 event
- Nairoto, on the bank of the Messalo river, 60 km north of Montepuez town.8 deaths · 1 event
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Montepuez, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- Cabo Delgado Province
- Nampula Province
- Niassa Province
Named in the official UK travel advice for Mozambique (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Montepuez.
How safe is Montepuez really?
No published homicide figure exists for Montepuez itself, so the national rate stands in: Mozambique recorded 3.6 homicides per 100,000 people in 2011 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. That matters because income inequality is the strongest structural predictor of city violence in this dataset, and Mozambique's Gini of 49.6 puts it in the most unequal quarter of countries - conditions under which street crime and robbery tend to be a real concern.
Montepuez also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 153 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 60 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Nacuale, west of Ancuabe town (18 deaths), Metoro administrative post, in Ancuabe district, (11 deaths), Nairoto, on the bank of the Messalo river, 60 km north of Montepuez town. (8 deaths).
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Mozambique at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2025-06-15). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of this country, naming 3 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 Mozambique
Terrorism in Mozambique · Terrorist kidnap · Political situation · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Carjacking · Police harassment and corruption · Criminal kidnap · Personal ID · Alcohol laws and bans · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · Landmines · Using cameras in secure areas · LGBT+ travellers · Money · +5 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Mozambique — country-level, not specific to Montepuez. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 3.6 /100knational rate, 2011
- Conflict deaths
- 153within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 49.6country, 2022
- Human development
- HDI 0.493country, 2023
- Income
- $1,540/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 114kurban centre · 4,226/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 30.0 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 36/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 36/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 21/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 7.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.55Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 13.7 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 28%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.2 doctors /1k0.7 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 295 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Mozambique
- Drought
- 7.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 6.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 3.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 3.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Cyclone
- 2.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Mozambique as a whole, not Montepuez specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Mozambique (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Mozambique; 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 Montepuez that gives 44.6/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Montepuez compared with Nampula
| Measure | Montepuez | Nampula | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 44.6 | 47.8 | −3.3 — better for Nampula |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 3.6 /100k | 3.6 /100k | ±0.0 /100k |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 153 | 45 | +108 — better for Nampula |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Mozambique, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Nampula →
Nearby cities
- Pemba 42.6
- Nampula 47.8
- Nacala 49.5
- Gurue 55.3
- Mtwara, Tanzania 54.3
- Lichinga 58.2
- Songea, Tanzania 64.5
- Mocuba 52.0
See Montepuez on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Africa → · Full travel briefings →