Is Mutare safe?
Zimbabwe · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04
Mutare is a city in Zimbabwe, home to about 149k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,313 of 6,168, with a safety score of 48.8 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.
Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police) · Landline 0800 3222 911
- Elevated homicide rate6.76 homicides per 100,000 per year (national rate), about 2× the global city median.
- Same-sex activity criminalizedLaw on the books in Zimbabwe as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.
- High income inequalityGini 50.3 puts Zimbabwe 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 Zimbabwe are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.
How safe is Mutare really?
No published homicide figure exists for Mutare itself, so the national rate stands in: Zimbabwe recorded 6.8 homicides per 100,000 people in 2022 - roughly 2 times 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 Zimbabwe's Gini of 50.3 puts it in the most unequal quarter of countries - conditions under which street crime and robbery tend to be a real concern.
Mutare also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 7 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 4 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss.
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Zimbabwe at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2023-06-26). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Zimbabwe 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 Zimbabwe
Terrorism in Zimbabwe · Political situation · Blackouts and water rationing · Mobile network and landlines · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Vehicle crime · Personal ID · Illegal drugs · Money · Using cameras and binoculars in secure areas · State House in Harare · Journalism and social media · Dual nationality · Wildlife, animal products and souvenirs · +10 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Zimbabwe — country-level, not specific to Mutare. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 6.8 /100knational rate, 2022 · ~2× the global city median
- Conflict deaths
- 7within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 50.3country, 2019
- Human development
- HDI 0.598country, 2023
- Income
- $6,390/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 149kurban centre · 3,553/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 41.2 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 49/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 36/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 22/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 4.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.59Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 15.0 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 26%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.1 doctors /1k2.0 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 11 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Zimbabwe
- Drought
- 9.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 3.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 1.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Zimbabwe as a whole, not Mutare specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Zimbabwe (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.
All country-level figures shared by every city in Zimbabwe; 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 Mutare that gives 48.8/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Mutare compared with Harare
| Measure | Mutare | Harare | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 48.8 | 54.5 | −5.6 — better for Harare |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 6.8 /100k | 6.8 /100k | ±0.0 /100k |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 7 | 0 | +7 — better for Harare |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Zimbabwe, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Harare →
Nearby cities
- Chimoio, Mozambique 51.1
- Catandica, Mozambique 58.2
- Ruwa 54.5
- Harare 54.5
- Masvingo 54.5
- Dondo, Mozambique 48.5
- Beira, Mozambique 48.5
- Kwekwe 54.5
See Mutare on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Africa → · Full travel briefings →