Is Montevideo safe?
Uruguay · South America · data updated 2026-09-04
Montevideo is a city in Uruguay, home to about 1.2M people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4,744 of 6,168, with a safety score of 56.5 out of 100, which lands it in the middle band of the ranking.
Emergency 911 (ambulance, fire, police)
- Elevated homicide rate16.7 homicides per 100,000 per year (city-measured), about 6× the global city median.
No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for Uruguay are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.
How safe is Montevideo really?
The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Montevideo recorded 17 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2024 - roughly 6 times the global city median. Uruguay's income inequality is middling (Gini 40.0) - 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 US State Department currently rates Uruguay at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2026-07-27). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Uruguay 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 Uruguay
Terrorism in Uruguay · Street crime in Montevideo · Theft from cars in Montevideo · Crime outside Montevideo · Money · Smoking and e-cigarette bans · Marijuana · LGBT+ travellers · Swimming safety · Road travel · Road conditions · Bus terminal · Flooding · Forest fires
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Uruguay — country-level, not specific to Montevideo. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 17 /100kcity-measured, 2024 · ~6× the global city median
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 40.0country, 2024
- Human development
- HDI 0.862country, 2023
- Income
- $36,330/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 1.2Murban centre · 5,369/km²
- Nearest airport
- 15 kmCarrasco General Cesáreo L. Berisso International Airport (MVD)
Straight-line distance from the city centre, not drive time. Scheduled-service airports only (OurAirports).
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 14.8 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 88/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 73/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 73/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 2.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.82Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 10.9 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- no dataof the population · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 4.7 doctors /1k2.4 hospital beds per 1,000
Natural hazards in Uruguay
- Flood
- 3.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 3.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Uruguay as a whole, not Montevideo specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Uruguay (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Uruguay; 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 Montevideo that gives 56.5/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Montevideo compared with La Plata
| Measure | Montevideo | La Plata | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 56.5 | 63.4 | −6.9 — better for La Plata |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 17 /100k | 5.2 /100k | +12 /100k — better for La Plata |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 40.0 | 42.4 | −2.4 — better for Montevideo |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.862 | 0.865 | −0.003 — better for La Plata |
| Road deaths | 14.8 /100k | 14.1 /100k | +0.7 /100k — better for La Plata |
| Rule of law | 73/100 | 53/100 | +20/100 — better for Montevideo |
| Corruption perceptions | 73/100 | 36/100 | +37/100 — better for Montevideo |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 10.9 µg/m³ | 14.3 µg/m³ | −3.4 µg/m³ — better for Montevideo |
| Natural-hazard risk | 2.5/10 | 3.9/10 | −1.4/10 — better for Montevideo |
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 La Plata →
Nearby cities
- Las Piedras 56.5
- Maldonado 59.2
- La Plata, Argentina 63.4
- Buenos Aires, Argentina 68.5
- Mar del Plata, Argentina 63.9
- Tandil, Argentina 65.3
- San Nicolás de los Arroyos, Argentina 65.3
- Concordia, Argentina 65.3
See Montevideo on the interactive map → · Safest cities in South America → · Full travel briefings →