Is Sfax safe?
Tunisia · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04
Sfax is a city in Tunisia, home to about 608k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 3,720 of 6,168, with a safety score of 67.7 out of 100, placing it clearly above the global midpoint.
Emergency Ambulance 190 · Fire and car accidents 198
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country15 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
- Same-sex activity criminalizedLaw on the books in Tunisia as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- Western Tunisia, including the Tunisia-Algeria border
- Southern Tunisia, including the Tunisia-Libya border
- the Chaambi Mountains National Park
- the designated military operations zones: Mount Salloum
- Mount Sammamma
- Mount Mghila
- areas north and west of the town of Ghardimaou in Jendouba Governorate, including El Feidja National Park
- within 20km of the Tunisia-Algeria border in El Kef and Jendouba governorates, south of the town of Jendouba
- Kasserine Governorate, including the town of Sbeitla
- within 10km of the rest of the Tunisia-Algeria border south of Kasserine Governorate
- within 10km of Mount Mghila
- Mount Orbata
- the militarised zone south of the towns of El Borma and Dhehiba
- within 20km of the rest of the Tunisia-Libya border area north of Dhehiba
- the town of Ben Guerdane and immediate surrounding area
Named in the official UK travel advice for Tunisia (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Sfax.
How safe is Sfax really?
No published homicide figure exists for Sfax itself, so the national rate stands in: Tunisia recorded 4.7 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. Tunisia's income inequality is middling (Gini 33.7) - 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 Tunisia at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2026-05-20). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of this country, naming 15 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 Tunisia
Terrorism in Tunisia · Migration from sub-Saharan Africa · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Sexual harassment and sexual assault · Personal ID · Dress code · Ramadan · Alcohol laws · Drugs and illegal substances · Using cameras in secure areas · Buying antiquities · Buying property · LGBT+ travellers · Swimming safety · +5 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Tunisia — country-level, not specific to Sfax. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 4.7 /100knational rate, 2020
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 33.7country, 2021
- Human development
- HDI 0.746country, 2023
- Income
- $14,870/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 608kurban centre · 3,417/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 16.5 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 50/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 51/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 39/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 3.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.67Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 18.9 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 65%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 1.3 doctors /1k1.8 hospital beds per 1,000
Natural hazards in Tunisia
- Tsunami
- 5.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 5.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 4.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 3.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Tunisia as a whole, not Sfax specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Tunisia (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.
All country-level figures shared by every city in Tunisia; 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 Sfax that gives 67.7/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Sfax compared with Tunis
| Measure | Sfax | Tunis | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 67.7 | 67.7 | ±0.0 |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 4.7 /100k | 4.7 /100k | ±0.0 /100k |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Tunisia, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Tunis →
Nearby cities
- Ksar Hellal 67.7
- Gabes 67.7
- Sousse 67.7
- Gafsa 62.4
- Hammamet 67.7
- Fouchana 67.7
- Tunis 67.7
- Tebessa, Algeria 74.6
See Sfax on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Africa → · Full travel briefings →