Riga scores 69 out of 100 (high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 3456 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 Riga safe?

Latvia · Europe · data updated 2026-09-04

69.4High · rank 3456 / 6,168
safer than 44% of ranked cities

Riga is a city in Latvia, home to about 550k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 3,456 of 6,168, with a safety score of 69.4 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.

US 1/4 Exercise normal precautions

Emergency Ambulance 113 · Fire 112 · Police 110 · Riga Tourist Police +371 6718 1818

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

How safe is Riga really?

The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Riga recorded 4.4 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2022 - close to the global city median. Latvia's income inequality is middling (Gini 34.0) - 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 Latvia at level 1 of 4 - "Exercise normal precautions" (updated 2026-03-31). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Latvia 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 Latvia

Terrorism in Latvia · Belarus border · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Scams · Bank card fraud · Drink and food spiking · Theft from vehicles · Personal ID · Alcohol laws and bans · Illegal drugs · Public transport · LGBT+ travellers · Road travel · Taxi safety · +2 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 4.4 /100kcity-measured, 2022
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 34.0country, 2023
Human development: HDI 0.889country, 2023
Income: $45,740/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 550kurban centre · 3,769/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 8.1 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 76/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 76/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 60/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 2.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.88Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 13.0 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 97%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 3.4 doctors /1k5.0 hospital beds per 1,000

Natural hazards in Latvia

Flood: 6.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 2.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

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

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%46

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 Riga that gives 69.4/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Riga compared with Helsinki

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Riga, red favours Helsinki.
Measure	Riga	Helsinki	Difference
Safety score	69.4	78.2	−8.8 — better for Helsinki
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	4.4 /100k	2.3 /100k	+2.1 /100k — better for Helsinki
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	0	±0
Income inequality (Gini)	34.0	27.4	+6.6 — better for Helsinki
Human development (HDI)	0.889	0.948	−0.059 — better for Helsinki
Road deaths	8.1 /100k	3.9 /100k	+4.2 /100k — better for Helsinki
Rule of law	76/100	92/100	−16/100 — better for Helsinki
Corruption perceptions	60/100	88/100	−28/100 — better for Helsinki
Air quality (PM2.5)	13.0 µg/m³	4.6 µg/m³	+8.4 µg/m³ — better for Helsinki
Natural-hazard risk	2.6/10	2.0/10	+0.6/10 — better for Helsinki

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 Helsinki →

Nearby cities

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