Is Moscow safe?
Russia · Europe · data updated 2026-09-04
Moscow is a city in Russia, home to about 15M people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4,270 of 6,168, with a safety score of 62.0 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.
Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police)
- US State Department: Do not travelOfficial travel advisory level 4 of 4 for Russia, updated 2025-12-28.
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to this countryOfficial UK government travel advice, updated 2026-07-03.
Deadliest recorded locations nearby
- Crocus City Hall, Krasnogorsk, outskirts of Moscow145 deaths · 1 event
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Moscow, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.
How safe is Moscow really?
The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Moscow recorded 1.8 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2021 - close to the global city median. Russia's income inequality is middling (Gini 33.0) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.
Moscow also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 152 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 5 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Crocus City Hall, Krasnogorsk, outskirts of Moscow (145 deaths).
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Russia at level 4 of 4 - "Do not travel" (updated 2025-12-28). 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 Russia
Terrorism in Russia · Terrorism in the North Caucasus · Security situation in Russia · Land border crossings · Staying in Russia · Russia’s invasion of Ukraine · Military activity in Kursk Oblast · Foreign fighters · Risk of arrest and detention · Getting help while in detention · Restrictions on publishing and distributing information · International sanctions against Russia · Protests and demonstrations · Protecting your belongings · +28 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Russia — country-level, not specific to Moscow. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 1.8 /100kcity-measured, 2021
- Conflict deaths
- 152within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 33.0country, 2023
- Human development
- HDI 0.832country, 2023
- Income
- $49,220/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 15Murban centre · 9,305/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 12.0 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 50/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 37/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 22/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 3.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.72Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 11.6 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 76%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 5.1 doctors /1k6.8 hospital beds per 1,000
Natural hazards in Russia
- Flood
- 8.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 5.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 4.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 4.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Cyclone
- 2.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Russia as a whole, not Moscow specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Russia (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Russia; 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 Moscow that gives 62.0/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Moscow compared with Zhukovsky
| Measure | Moscow | Zhukovsky | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 62.0 | 51.7 | +10.3 — better for Moscow |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 1.8 /100k | 7.8 /100k | −6.0 /100k — better for Moscow |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 152 | 152 | ±0 |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Russia, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Zhukovsky →
Nearby cities
- Zhukovsky 51.7
- Podolsk 51.7
- Zelenograd 51.7
- Elektrostal 51.8
- Sergiyev Posad 51.8
- Orekhovo-Zouïevo 60.5
- Serpukhov 51.7
- Obninsk 51.8
See Moscow on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Europe → · Full travel briefings →