World Safety Map

Is Porto safe?

Portugal · Europe · data updated 2026-09-04

82.3Very high · rank 1651 / 6,168
safer than 73% of ranked cities

Porto is a city in Portugal, home to about 990k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 1,651 of 6,168, with a safety score of 82.3 out of 100, which puts it in the top band of the ranking.

Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police)

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

How safe is Porto really?

No published homicide figure exists for Porto itself, so the national rate stands in: Portugal recorded 0.7 homicides per 100,000 people in 2023 - well below the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Portugal's income inequality is middling (Gini 33.9) - 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 Portugal at level 1 of 4 - "Exercise normal precautions" (updated 2025-03-02). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Portugal 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 Portugal

Terrorism in Portugal · Political Demonstrations · Strike action · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Attacks and sexual assault · Drink spiking and alcohol · Personal ID · Gambling · Illegal drugs · Local laws governing public behaviour in Albufeira · Festivals, concerts and cultural events · Beaches and swimming · Swimming pools · Beaches · +8 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate
0.7 /100knational rate, 2023
Conflict deaths
0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality
Gini 33.9country, 2023
Human development
HDI 0.890country, 2023
Income
$52,240/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population
990kurban centre · 3,427/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths
8.2 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability
75/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law
75/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions
56/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk
1.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security
0.86Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality
8.8 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water
95%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity
5.8 doctors /1k3.5 hospital beds per 1,000

Natural hazards in Portugal

Tsunami
4.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Flood
3.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake
3.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought
2.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

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

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%78
Peace25%100
Equality25%69
Development10%89

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 Porto that gives 82.3/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Porto compared with Lisbon

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Porto, red favours Lisbon.
MeasurePortoLisbonDifference
Safety score82.374.4+7.9 — better for Porto
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate0.7 /100k2.2 /100k−1.5 /100k — better for Porto
Conflict deaths within 100 km00±0

Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Portugal, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Lisbon

Nearby cities

See Porto on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Europe · Full travel briefings →