Nicosia scores 69 out of 100 (high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 3549 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 Nicosia safe?

Cyprus · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04

69.0High · rank 3549 / 6,168
safer than 42% of ranked cities

Nicosia is a city in Cyprus, home to about 333k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 3,549 of 6,168, with a safety score of 69.0 out of 100, placing it clearly above the global midpoint.

US 1/4 Exercise normal precautions

Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police)

Elevated homicide rate5.8 homicides per 100,000 per year (city-measured), about 2× the global city median.

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

How safe is Nicosia really?

The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Nicosia recorded 5.8 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2019 - roughly 2 times the global city median. Cyprus is also one of the more equal societies in the dataset (Gini 31.8), and low inequality is the strongest structural predictor of low city violence in this data.

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates Cyprus at level 1 of 4 - "Exercise normal precautions" (updated 2026-05-31). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Cyprus 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 Cyprus

Terrorism in Cyprus · Political demonstrations · Political situation · Drink spiking · Illegal drugs · LGBT+ travellers · Dual nationals and military service · Surrogacy · Republic of Cyprus · The north of Cyprus · Surrogacy arrangements · Returning to the UK · Fertility treatment · International parental child abduction · +9 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 5.8 /100kcity-measured, 2019 · ~2× the global city median
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 31.8country, 2023
Human development: HDI 0.913country, 2023
Income: $57,390/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 333kurban centre · 3,398/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 5.8 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 72/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 69/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 55/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 2.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.77Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 16.1 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 100%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 3.6 doctors /1k2.2 hospital beds per 1,000

Natural hazards in Cyprus

Earthquake: 6.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Tsunami: 4.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 2.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Cyprus as a whole, not Nicosia specifically.

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%41

Peace25%100

Equality25%74

Development10%91

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 Nicosia that gives 69.0/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Nicosia compared with Mersin

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Nicosia, red favours Mersin.
Measure	Nicosia	Mersin	Difference
Safety score	69.0	64.1	+4.8 — better for Nicosia
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	5.8 /100k	2.4 /100k	+3.4 /100k — better for Mersin
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	3	−3 — better for Nicosia
Income inequality (Gini)	31.8	43.7	−11.9 — better for Nicosia
Human development (HDI)	0.913	0.853	+0.060 — better for Nicosia
Road deaths	5.8 /100k	6.7 /100k	−0.9 /100k — better for Nicosia
Rule of law	69/100	42/100	+27/100 — better for Nicosia
Corruption perceptions	55/100	31/100	+24/100 — better for Nicosia
Air quality (PM2.5)	16.1 µg/m³	26.4 µg/m³	−10.3 µg/m³ — better for Nicosia
Natural-hazard risk	2.9/10	5.2/10	−2.3/10 — better for Nicosia

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 Mersin →

Nearby cities

See Nicosia on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →