Sa`dah scores 43 out of 100 (moderate safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 5657 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 Sa`dah safe?

Yemen · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04

43.2Moderate · rank 5657 / 6,168
safer than 8% of ranked cities

Sa`dah is a city in Yemen, home to about 185k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,657 of 6,168, with a safety score of 43.2 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.

US 4/4 Do not travel UK FCDO advises against all travel to this country

Emergency Ambulance 191 · Fire 191 · Police 199 or 194

Armed conflict nearbyUCDP recorded 936 deaths from organized violence within 100 km in 2022-2024 (186 events). Crime figures do not capture war risk.
US State Department: Do not travelOfficial travel advisory level 4 of 4 for Yemen, updated 2025-12-18.
UK FCDO advises against all travel to this countryOfficial UK government travel advice, updated 2026-07-31.
Elevated homicide rate5.81 homicides per 100,000 per year (national rate), about 2× the global city median.
Same-sex activity criminalized - death penalty in lawLaw on the books in Yemen as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.

Deadliest recorded locations nearby

Munabeh134 deaths · 1 event
Harad city106 deaths · 1 event
Sa'ada City Remand Prison91 deaths · 2 events

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

How safe is Sa`dah really?

No published homicide figure exists for Sa`dah itself, so the national rate stands in: Yemen recorded 5.8 homicides per 100,000 people in 2013 - roughly 2 times the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Yemen's income inequality is middling (Gini 36.7) - 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 936 deaths from organized violence - war, armed conflict, militia or cartel fighting - within 100 km of Sa`dah across 186 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 Munabeh (134 deaths), Harad city (106 deaths), Sa'ada City Remand Prison (91 deaths).

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates Yemen at level 4 of 4 - "Do not travel" (updated 2025-12-18). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to this country. 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 Yemen

Terrorism in Yemen · Terrorist kidnap · Political situation · Crime · Ramadan · Dress code · Alcohol laws · Using cameras in secure areas · LGBT+ travellers · Antiquities · Road travel · Driving conditions · Air travel · Sea travel · +2 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 5.8 /100knational rate, 2013 · ~2× the global city median
Conflict deaths: 936within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 36.7country, 2014
Human development: HDI 0.470country, 2023
Income: $3,020/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 185kurban centre · 5,594/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 29.4 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 19/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 24/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 13/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 7.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.32Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 46.8 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 /1k0.5 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria: 52 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in Yemen

Flood: 5.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 4.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Tsunami: 3.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Cyclone: 3.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake: 1.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Yemen as a whole, not Sa`dah specifically.

Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Yemen, with the death penalty applying in law (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%41

Peace25%26

Equality25%63

Development10%47

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 Sa`dah that gives 43.2/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Sa`dah compared with Najran

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Sa`dah, red favours Najran.
Measure	Sa`dah	Najran	Difference
Safety score	43.2	67.2	−24.0 — better for Najran
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	5.8 /100k	0.8 /100k	+5.0 /100k — better for Najran
Conflict deaths within 100 km	936	163	+773 — better for Najran
Income inequality (Gini)	36.7	no data	—
Human development (HDI)	0.470	0.900	−0.430 — better for Najran
Road deaths	29.4 /100k	35.9 /100k	−6.5 /100k — better for Sa`dah
Rule of law	24/100	61/100	−37/100 — better for Najran
Corruption perceptions	13/100	57/100	−44/100 — better for Najran
Air quality (PM2.5)	46.8 µg/m³	73.5 µg/m³	−26.7 µg/m³ — better for Sa`dah
Natural-hazard risk	7.7/10	3.1/10	+4.6/10 — better for Najran

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 Najran →

Nearby cities

Najran, Saudi Arabia 67.2
Khamir 47.0
Khayran 44.0
Al Mahabishah 44.6
`Abs 44.6
Hajja 44.3
`Amran 48.9
Ar Rujum 46.6

See Sa`dah on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →