Is Sheberghan safe?
Afghanistan · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04
Sheberghan is a city in Afghanistan, home to about 181k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4,856 of 6,168, with a safety score of 55.0 out of 100, which lands it in the middle band of the ranking.
Emergency 119 (police)
- US State Department: Do not travelOfficial travel advisory level 4 of 4 for Afghanistan, updated 2026-02-19.
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to this countryOfficial UK government travel advice, updated 2026-07-30.
- Same-sex activity criminalized - death penalty in lawLaw on the books in Afghanistan as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.
- Airlines certified in Afghanistan are banned from EU airspaceThe EU Air Safety List (2026) bars every carrier certified in Afghanistan, because its aviation authority cannot demonstrate effective safety oversight. This covers flights operated by Afghanistan-certified airlines, typically domestic and regional routes; international carriers flying into Afghanistan are certified elsewhere and are not affected.
Deadliest recorded locations nearby
- Jar Qala village of Chimtal district.7 deaths · 1 event
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Sheberghan, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.
How safe is Sheberghan really?
No published homicide figure exists for Sheberghan itself, so the national rate stands in: Afghanistan recorded 4.2 homicides per 100,000 people in 2023 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average.
Sheberghan also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 14 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 11 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Jar Qala village of Chimtal district. (7 deaths).
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Afghanistan at level 4 of 4 - "Do not travel" (updated 2026-02-19). 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 Afghanistan
Terrorism in Afghanistan · Terrorist kidnap · Tour operators in Afghanistan · Protests · UK government support for detainees · Crime · Criminal kidnaps · Laws on dress · Lack of women’s rights · Ramadan · Illegal food, drugs and alcohol · Mobile phones, internet access and communications · Using cameras in secure areas · LGBT+ travellers · +6 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Afghanistan — country-level, not specific to Sheberghan. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 4.2 /100knational rate, 2023
- Conflict deaths
- 14within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- no datacountry,
- Human development
- HDI 0.496country, 2023
- Income
- $2,250/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 181kurban centre · 6,477/km²
- Nearest airport
- 130 kmMazar-i-Sharif International Airport (MZR)
Straight-line distance from the city centre, not drive time. Scheduled-service airports only (OurAirports).
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 15.9 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 28/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 24/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 16/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 7.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.28Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 37.9 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 31%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.3 doctors /1k0.4 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 18 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Afghanistan
- Earthquake
- 8.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 8.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 7.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Afghanistan as a whole, not Sheberghan specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Afghanistan, with the death penalty applying in law (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.
The EU bars every airline certified in Afghanistan from European airspace because the national aviation authority cannot demonstrate effective safety oversight (EU Air Safety List, 2026). This concerns flights operated by Afghanistan-certified airlines, typically domestic and regional routes, not the international carriers most visitors arrive on. See the airlines listed
All country-level figures shared by every city in Afghanistan; 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 Sheberghan that gives 55.0/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Sheberghan compared with Mazar i sharif
| Measure | Sheberghan | Mazar i sharif | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 55.0 | 46.0 | +9.0 — better for Sheberghan |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 4.2 /100k | 4.2 /100k | ±0.0 /100k |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 14 | 179 | −165 — better for Sheberghan |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Afghanistan, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Mazar i sharif →
Nearby cities
- Sar-e Pol 54.3
- Andkhoy 59.8
- Koh-i-Sayad 55.5
- Bai Ghesi 56.1
- Maymana 55.5
- Mazar i sharif 46.0
- Termez, Uzbekistan 63.3
- Qeysar 56.1
See Sheberghan on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →