Motherwell scores 38 out of 100 (low safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 5891 of 6168 cities worldwide. The score combines the homicide rate, nearby conflict deaths, income equality and human development from published data (UNODC, UCDP, World Bank, UNDP).

Is Motherwell safe?

South Africa · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04

38.5Low · rank 5891 / 6,168
safer than 4% of ranked cities

Motherwell is a city in South Africa, home to about 165k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,891 of 6,168, with a safety score of 38.5 out of 100, placing it clearly below the global midpoint.

US 2/4 Exercise increased caution

Emergency All emergencies from mobiles 112 · Ambulance and fire 10177 · Police 10111 · National Sea and Rescue Institute 112 or +27 87 094 9774 · Wilderness Search and Rescue +27 21 937 0300

Very high homicide rate101.9 homicides per 100,000 per year (city-measured), about 37× the global city median.
High income inequalityGini 54.1 puts South Africa 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).

No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for South Africa are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.

How safe is Motherwell really?

The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Motherwell recorded 102 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2024 - roughly 37 times the global city median. That matters because income inequality is the strongest structural predictor of city violence in this dataset, and South Africa's Gini of 54.1 puts it in the most unequal quarter of countries - conditions under which street crime and robbery tend to be a real concern.

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates South Africa at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2025-05-26). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for South Africa 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 South Africa

Terrorism in South Africa · Israel and Palestine conflict · Political situation · Crime locations · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Airport crime · Cape Town airport road attacks · Vehicle crime · Criminal kidnap · Solo and women travellers · Fraud and scams · Nightlife and dating · ATMs and money exchanges · Table Mountain National Park attacks · +21 more

Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for South Africa — country-level, not specific to Motherwell. Read what each one says →

The numbers

Homicide rate: 102 /100kcity-measured, 2024 · ~37× the global city median
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 54.1country, 2022
Human development: HDI 0.741country, 2023
Income: $15,600/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 165kurban centre · 6,604/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 22.2 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 55/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 57/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 41/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 5.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.65Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 27.7 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 68%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 0.8 doctors /1k2.3 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria: 0 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in South Africa

Drought: 8.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Flood: 3.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake: 1.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Cyclone: 1.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Tsunami: 1.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe South Africa as a whole, not Motherwell specifically.

Same-sex sexual activity is legal in South Africa (as of 2025).

All country-level figures shared by every city in South Africa; none of them affect the safety score.

How the score works

Low homicide40%0

Peace25%100

Equality25%24

Development10%74

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 Motherwell that gives 38.5/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Motherwell compared with Gqeberha

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Motherwell, red favours Gqeberha.
Measure	Motherwell	Gqeberha	Difference
Safety score	38.5	38.5	±0.0
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	102 /100k	102 /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 South Africa, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Gqeberha →

Nearby cities

See Motherwell on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Africa → · Full travel briefings →