Is Pontianak safe?
Indonesia · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04
Pontianak is a city in Indonesia, home to about 809k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 261 of 6,168, with a safety score of 84.2 out of 100, which puts it in the top band of the ranking.
Emergency Ambulance 118 · Fire 112 · Police 110
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country7 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- FCDO advises against all travel to a number of volcanoes in Indonesia:
- Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, on Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara Province
- Mount Sinabung, Karo Regency, North Sumatra
- Mount Marapi, West Sumatra
- Mount Semeru, Lumajang Regency, East Java
- Mount Ruang, Northern Sulawesi
- Mount Ibu, North Maluku Province
Named in the official UK travel advice for Indonesia (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Pontianak.
How safe is Pontianak really?
No published homicide figure exists for Pontianak itself, so the national rate stands in: Indonesia recorded 0.4 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024 - well below the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Indonesia's income inequality is middling (Gini 34.4) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Indonesia at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2026-07-06). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of this country, naming 7 specific areas - listed above with the official advisory linked for exact boundaries and exceptions. 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 Indonesia
Terrorism in Indonesia · Political situation · Sexual assault · Drink spiking · Protecting your belongings · Scams · Alcoholic drinks and drugs · Methanol poisoning · Ramadan · Balinese New Year · Personal ID · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · Alcohol laws and bans · LGBT+ travellers · +11 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Indonesia — country-level, not specific to Pontianak. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 0.4 /100knational rate, 2024
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 34.4country, 2025
- Human development
- HDI 0.728country, 2023
- Income
- $17,190/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 809kurban centre · 5,356/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 11.3 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 55/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 53/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 34/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 4.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.68Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 20.8 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 31%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.5 doctors /1k1.4 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 2 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Indonesia
- Tsunami
- 9.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 8.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 8.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 3.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Cyclone
- 1.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Indonesia as a whole, not Pontianak specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Indonesia (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Indonesia; 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 Pontianak that gives 84.2/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Pontianak compared with Kuching
| Measure | Pontianak | Kuching | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 84.2 | 86.7 | −2.4 — better for Kuching |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 0.4 /100k | 0.2 /100k | +0.2 /100k — better for Kuching |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 34.4 | 40.7 | −6.3 — better for Pontianak |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.728 | 0.819 | −0.091 — better for Kuching |
| Road deaths | 11.3 /100k | 22.5 /100k | −11.2 /100k — better for Pontianak |
| Rule of law | 53/100 | 63/100 | −10/100 — better for Kuching |
| Corruption perceptions | 34/100 | 52/100 | −18/100 — better for Kuching |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 20.8 µg/m³ | 15.9 µg/m³ | +4.9 µg/m³ — better for Kuching |
| Natural-hazard risk | 4.5/10 | 3.2/10 | +1.3/10 — better for Kuching |
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 Kuching →
Nearby cities
- Singkawang 84.2
- Kuching, Malaysia 86.7
- Ketapang 84.2
- Sintang 84.2
- Tanjung Pandan 84.2
- Sibu, Malaysia 78.0
- Pangkalan Bun 84.2
- Sungailiat 82.4
See Pontianak on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →