Is Paradise safe?
Guyana · South America · data updated 2026-09-04
Paradise is a city in Guyana, home to about 103k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,142 of 6,168, with a safety score of 50.7 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.
Emergency Ambulance 913 · Fire 912 · Police 911
- US State Department: Reconsider travelOfficial travel advisory level 3 of 4 for Guyana, updated 2025-05-11.
- Very high homicide rate22.6 homicides per 100,000 per year (city-measured), about 8× the global city median.
- Same-sex activity criminalizedLaw on the books in Guyana as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.
- High income inequalityGini 45.1 puts Guyana 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 Guyana are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.
How safe is Paradise really?
The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Paradise recorded 23 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2024 - roughly 8 times the global city median. That matters because income inequality is the strongest structural predictor of city violence in this dataset, and Guyana's Gini of 45.1 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 Guyana at level 3 of 4 - "Reconsider travel" (updated 2025-05-11). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Guyana 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 Guyana
Terrorism in Guyana · Border areas · Violent attacks and personal safety · Protecting your belongings · Scams · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · LGBT+ travellers · Hotel safety · Road travel · Driving standards and road conditions · Taxis and minibuses · River and sea travel · Flooding
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Guyana — country-level, not specific to Paradise. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 23 /100kcity-measured, 2024 · ~8× the global city median
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 45.1country, 1998
- Human development
- HDI 0.776country, 2023
- Income
- $80,300/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 103kurban centre · 2,450/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 22.3 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 70/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 51/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 40/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 4.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.77Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 16.9 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 67%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 1.4 doctors /1k3.2 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 39 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Guyana
- Flood
- 6.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 4.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 2.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Guyana as a whole, not Paradise specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Guyana (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.
All country-level figures shared by every city in Guyana; 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 Paradise that gives 50.7/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Paradise compared with Ciudad Guayana
| Measure | Paradise | Ciudad Guayana | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 50.7 | 50.5 | +0.1 — better for Paradise |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 23 /100k | 22 /100k | +1.0 /100k — better for Ciudad Guayana |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 45.1 | 44.7 | +0.4 — better for Ciudad Guayana |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.776 | 0.709 | +0.067 — better for Paradise |
| Road deaths | 22.3 /100k | 39.0 /100k | −16.7 /100k — better for Paradise |
| Rule of law | 51/100 | 19/100 | +32/100 — better for Paradise |
| Corruption perceptions | 40/100 | 10/100 | +30/100 — better for Paradise |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 16.9 µg/m³ | 19.2 µg/m³ | −2.3 µg/m³ — better for Paradise |
| Natural-hazard risk | 4.0/10 | 6.4/10 | −2.4/10 — better for Paradise |
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 Ciudad Guayana →
Nearby cities
- Georgetown 50.7
- Paramaribo, Suriname 65.1
- Tucupita, Venezuela 53.7
- Boa Vista, Brazil 39.7
- Chirica Vieja, Venezuela 50.5
- Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela 50.5
- Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago 46.8
- Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago 46.8
See Paradise on the interactive map → · Safest cities in South America → · Full travel briefings →