Rubavu scores 43 out of 100 (moderate safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 5669 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 Rubavu safe?

Rwanda · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04

43.0Moderate · rank 5669 / 6,168
safer than 8% of ranked cities

Rubavu is a city in Rwanda, home to about 338k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,669 of 6,168, with a safety score of 43.0 out of 100, which lands it in the middle band of the ranking.

US 3/4 Reconsider travel UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country

Emergency Ambulance 112 · Police 112 · Fire 111

Armed conflict nearbyUCDP recorded 2,959 deaths from organized violence within 100 km in 2022-2024 (583 events). Crime figures do not capture war risk.
US State Department: Reconsider travelOfficial travel advisory level 3 of 4 for Rwanda, updated 2026-05-10.
UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country1 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.

Deadliest recorded locations nearby

Masisi territory170 deaths · 13 events
a few kilometres north of Sake Bushanga position150 deaths · 1 event
Kishishe84 deaths · 3 events

UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Rubavu, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.

Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country

Rusizi District

Named in the official UK travel advice for Rwanda (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Rubavu.

How safe is Rubavu really?

No published homicide figure exists for Rubavu itself, so the national rate stands in: Rwanda recorded 3.6 homicides per 100,000 people in 2020 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Rwanda's income inequality is middling (Gini 39.4) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.

Crime statistics are not the main story here: the Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 2,959 deaths from organized violence - war, armed conflict, militia or cartel fighting - within 100 km of Rubavu across 583 events in 2022-2024. That is active-conflict territory, and ordinary crime figures say nothing about it. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Masisi territory (170 deaths), a few kilometres north of Sake Bushanga position (150 deaths), Kishishe (84 deaths).

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates Rwanda at level 3 of 4 - "Reconsider travel" (updated 2026-05-10). The UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country, naming 1 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 Rwanda

Terrorism in Rwanda · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Personal safety in military zones · Methanol poisoning · Illegal drugs · Using cameras in secure areas · LGBT+ travellers · Plastic bag ban · Genocide Memorial Day · National day of community service (Umuganda) · Gorilla and Chimpanzee trekking · Road travel · Driving standards · Building health and safety · +2 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 3.6 /100knational rate, 2020
Conflict deaths: 2,959within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 39.4country, 2023
Human development: HDI 0.578country, 2023
Income: $4,070/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 338kurban centre · 4,760/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 29.4 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 65/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 59/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 58/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 5.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.62Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 36.0 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: no dataof the population · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 0.1 doctors /1k0.8 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria: 77 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in Rwanda

Drought: 4.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake: 3.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Flood: 2.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

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

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%49

Peace25%13

Equality25%57

Development10%58

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 Rubavu that gives 43.0/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Rubavu compared with Goma

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Rubavu, red favours Goma.
Measure	Rubavu	Goma	Difference
Safety score	43.0	32.9	+10.1 — better for Rubavu
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	3.6 /100k	no data	—
Conflict deaths within 100 km	2,959	3,008	−49 — better for Rubavu
Income inequality (Gini)	39.4	44.7	−5.3 — better for Rubavu
Human development (HDI)	0.578	0.522	+0.056 — better for Rubavu
Road deaths	29.4 /100k	34.9 /100k	−5.5 /100k — better for Rubavu
Rule of law	59/100	29/100	+30/100 — better for Rubavu
Corruption perceptions	58/100	20/100	+38/100 — better for Rubavu
Air quality (PM2.5)	36.0 µg/m³	35.8 µg/m³	+0.2 µg/m³ — better for Goma
Natural-hazard risk	5.4/10	8.0/10	−2.6/10 — better for Rubavu

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 Goma →

Nearby cities

See Rubavu on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Africa → · Full travel briefings →