Is Shaikh Muhammad safe?
Iraq · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04
Shaikh Muhammad is a city in Iraq, home to about 109k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,391 of 6,168, with a safety score of 47.3 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.
Emergency Ambulance 122 · Fire 115 · Police 911
- Armed conflict nearbyUCDP recorded 546 deaths from organized violence within 100 km in 2022-2024 (240 events). Crime figures do not capture war risk.
- US State Department: Do not travelOfficial travel advisory level 4 of 4 for Iraq, updated 2026-08-28.
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country24 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
- Elevated homicide rate9.46 homicides per 100,000 per year (national rate), about 3× the global city median.
Deadliest recorded locations nearby
- Al ‘Amādīyah district92 deaths · 38 events
- Metina21 deaths · 11 events
- Metîna20 deaths · 13 events
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Shaikh Muhammad, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- Federal Iraq
- Kurdistan Region of Iraq
- The parts of Anbar province which are west of, but not including Ramadi City
- Diyala province except for Baqubah City
- Kirkuk province
- Ninawa province
- Salah al-Din province
- Jurf al-Sakr town in Babil province
- Sadr City, part of Baghdad province
- Within 5km of areas that border Iran in Wasit, Maysan and Basra provinces
- Within 5km of Iraq’s borders with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait
- The remainder of Al-Muthanna province
- Al-Qadasiyah province
- The remainder of Anbar province
- Babil province (except Jurf al-Sakr town)
- Baghdad province (except Sadr City)
- The remainder of Basra province, including Highways 1 and 8 and the Safwan-Kuwait border crossing
- Dhi Qar Province
- Karbala Province
- The remainder of Maysan province
- The remainder of Najaf province
- The remainder of Wasit province
- Baqubah City in Diyala province
- The road sections of Highway 34 between Baghdad and Baqubah, and Highway 2 between Baqubah and Erbil
Named in the official UK travel advice for Iraq (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Shaikh Muhammad.
How safe is Shaikh Muhammad really?
No published homicide figure exists for Shaikh Muhammad itself, so the national rate stands in: Iraq recorded 9.5 homicides per 100,000 people in 2013 - roughly 3 times the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Iraq is also one of the more equal societies in the dataset (Gini 29.8), and low inequality is the strongest structural predictor of low city violence in this data.
Crime statistics are not the main story here: the Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 546 deaths from organized violence - war, armed conflict, militia or cartel fighting - within 100 km of Shaikh Muhammad across 240 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 Al ‘Amādīyah district (92 deaths), Metina (21 deaths), Metîna (20 deaths).
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Iraq at level 4 of 4 - "Do not travel" (updated 2026-08-28). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of this country, naming 24 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 Iraq
Terrorism in Iraq · UK prosecution for terrorism offences · Terrorist kidnap · Protests · Curfews · Crime · Personal ID · Lost and stolen passports · Ramadan · The Arba’-een · Child custody · Journalists · Alcohol laws and bans · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · +8 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Iraq — country-level, not specific to Shaikh Muhammad. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 9.5 /100knational rate, 2013 · ~3× the global city median
- Conflict deaths
- 546within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 29.8country, 2023
- Human development
- HDI 0.695country, 2023
- Income
- $14,290/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 109kurban centre · 7,281/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 27.3 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 31/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 34/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 28/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 5.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.51Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 49.5 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 60%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 1.0 doctors /1k1.1 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 0 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Iraq
- Flood
- 9.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 7.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 5.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Iraq as a whole, not Shaikh Muhammad specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Iraq (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Iraq; 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 Shaikh Muhammad that gives 47.3/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Shaikh Muhammad compared with Mosul
| Measure | Shaikh Muhammad | Mosul | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 47.3 | 47.6 | −0.2 — better for Mosul |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 9.5 /100k | 9.5 /100k | ±0.0 /100k |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 546 | 501 | +45 — better for Mosul |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Iraq, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Mosul →
Nearby cities
See Shaikh Muhammad on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →