Is Palma Soriano safe?
Cuba · North America · data updated 2026-09-04
Palma Soriano is a city in Cuba, home to about 105k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 3,716 of 6,168, with a safety score of 67.8 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.
Emergency Ambulance 104 · Fire 105 · Police 106
- UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to this countryOfficial UK government travel advice, updated 2026-07-16.
No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for Cuba are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.
How safe is Palma Soriano really?
No published homicide figure exists for Palma Soriano itself, so the national rate stands in: Cuba recorded 4.5 homicides per 100,000 people in 2019 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average.
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Cuba at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2025-05-06). The UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential 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 Cuba
Terrorism in Cuba · Political situation · Protecting your belongings · Fake taxi drivers · Vehicle crime · Illegal drugs penalties · Using cameras in restricted areas · LGBT+ travellers · Risk of detention · Money · Road travel · Motorcycles and scooters · Taxis · Road conditions · +2 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Cuba — country-level, not specific to Palma Soriano. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 4.5 /100knational rate, 2019
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- no datacountry,
- Human development
- HDI 0.762country, 2023
- Income
- no dataGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 105kurban centre · 8,053/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 8.9 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 71/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 46/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 40/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 3.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- no dataGeorgetown WPS Index · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 9.4 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- no dataof the population · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 9.5 doctors /1k4.3 hospital beds per 1,000
Natural hazards in Cuba
- Cyclone
- 8.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 5.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 3.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 3.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Cuba as a whole, not Palma Soriano specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Cuba (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Cuba; 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 Palma Soriano that gives 67.8/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Palma Soriano compared with Kingston
| Measure | Palma Soriano | Kingston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 67.8 | 46.1 | +21.7 — better for Palma Soriano |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 4.5 /100k | 61 /100k | −56 /100k — better for Palma Soriano |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | no data | 39.9 | — |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.762 | 0.720 | +0.042 — better for Palma Soriano |
| Road deaths | 8.9 /100k | 15.1 /100k | −6.2 /100k — better for Palma Soriano |
| Rule of law | 46/100 | 56/100 | −10/100 — better for Kingston |
| Corruption perceptions | 40/100 | 44/100 | −4/100 — better for Kingston |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 9.4 µg/m³ | 21.7 µg/m³ | −12.3 µg/m³ — better for Palma Soriano |
| Natural-hazard risk | 3.5/10 | 3.7/10 | −0.2/10 — better for Palma Soriano |
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 Kingston →
Nearby cities
- Santiago de Cuba 67.8
- Bayamo 67.8
- Holguín 67.8
- Guantanamo 67.8
- Manzanillo 67.8
- Las Tunas 67.8
- Camagüey 67.8
- Kingston, Jamaica 46.1
See Palma Soriano on the interactive map → · Safest cities in North America → · Full travel briefings →