Is Salalah safe?
Oman · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04
Salalah is a city in Oman, home to about 279k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4 of 6,168, with a safety score of 98.1 out of 100, which puts it in the top band of the ranking.
Emergency 9999 (ambulance, fire, police)
- US State Department: Reconsider travelOfficial travel advisory level 3 of 4 for Oman, updated 2026-04-08.
- Same-sex activity criminalizedLaw on the books in Oman as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.
No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for Oman are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.
How safe is Salalah really?
No published homicide figure exists for Salalah itself, so the national rate stands in: Oman recorded 0.1 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.
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Oman at level 3 of 4 - "Reconsider travel" (updated 2026-04-08). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Oman 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 Oman
Terrorism in Oman · Political situation · Sexual assault · Personal ID · Ramadan · Alcohol laws · E-cigarette and vape bans · Blood test following arrest · Dress codes · Unmarried couples · Illegal drugs penalties · Public offences · Pornography · Using cameras and binoculars · +14 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Oman — country-level, not specific to Salalah. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 0.1 /100knational rate, 2023
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- no datacountry,
- Human development
- HDI 0.858country, 2023
- Income
- $39,390/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 279kurban centre · 4,431/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 10.6 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 77/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 65/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 52/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 2.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.76Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 46.9 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 91%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 2.0 doctors /1k1.0 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 0 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Oman
- Tsunami
- 9.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Cyclone
- 3.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 2.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 1.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Oman as a whole, not Salalah specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Oman (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.
All country-level figures shared by every city in Oman; 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 Salalah that gives 98.1/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Salalah compared with Al Ain
| Measure | Salalah | Al Ain | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 98.1 | 89.1 | +9.0 — better for Salalah |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 0.1 /100k | 0.5 /100k | −0.4 /100k — better for Salalah |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | no data | 26.4 | — |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.858 | 0.940 | −0.082 — better for Al Ain |
| Road deaths | 10.6 /100k | 8.9 /100k | +1.7 /100k — better for Al Ain |
| Rule of law | 65/100 | 66/100 | −1/100 — better for Al Ain |
| Corruption perceptions | 52/100 | 69/100 | −17/100 — better for Al Ain |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 46.9 µg/m³ | 57.2 µg/m³ | −10.3 µg/m³ — better for Salalah |
| Natural-hazard risk | 2.3/10 | 2.3/10 | ±0.0/10 |
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 Al Ain →
Nearby cities
- Shihr, Yemen 61.8
- Tarim, Yemen 58.8
- Say'un, Yemen 58.8
- Mukalla, Yemen 61.8
- Fuwwah, Yemen 61.8
- Al Ain, United Arab Emirates 89.1
- Khalifa City, United Arab Emirates 85.4
- Al Falah, United Arab Emirates 85.4
See Salalah on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →