Is Shenzhen safe?
China · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04
Shenzhen is a city in China, home to about 14M people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 515 of 6,168, with a safety score of 82.7 out of 100, which puts it in the top band of the ranking.
Emergency Ambulance 120 · Fire 119 · Police 110 · Traffic Police 122 · Maritime Search and Rescue Centre 12395
No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for China are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.
How safe is Shenzhen really?
No published homicide figure exists for Shenzhen itself, so the national rate stands in: China recorded 0.5 homicides per 100,000 people in 2020 - well below the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. China's income inequality is middling (Gini 36.0) - 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 UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for China 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 China
Terrorism in China · Risks under Chinese national security laws · Political situation · Drink spiking and sexual assault · Scams · Commercial disputes · Personal ID · National security laws · Travelling to sensitive areas · Religious activities and materials · Criminal proceedings · Exit bans · Money · Illegal drugs penalties and prison sentences · +13 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for China — country-level, not specific to Shenzhen. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 0.5 /100knational rate, 2020
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 36.0country, 2022
- Human development
- HDI 0.797country, 2023
- Income
- $29,160/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 14Murban centre · 9,512/km²
- Nearest airport
- 28 kmShenzhen Bao'an International Airport (SZX) · also HKG, 30 km
Straight-line distance from the city centre, not drive time. Scheduled-service airports only (OurAirports).
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 17.4 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 63/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 47/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 43/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 2.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.69Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 32.0 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- no dataof the population · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 3.1 doctors /1k5.6 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 0 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in China
- Flood
- 9.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 9.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Cyclone
- 7.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 6.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 4.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe China as a whole, not Shenzhen specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in China (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in China; 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 Shenzhen that gives 82.7/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Shenzhen compared with Hong Kong
| Measure | Shenzhen | Hong Kong | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 82.7 | 95.6 | −13.0 — better for Hong Kong |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 0.5 /100k | 0.3 /100k | +0.2 /100k — better for Hong Kong |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 36.0 | no data | — |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.797 | 0.955 | −0.158 — better for Hong Kong |
| Road deaths | 17.4 /100k | no data | — |
| Rule of law | 47/100 | 73/100 | −26/100 — better for Hong Kong |
| Corruption perceptions | 43/100 | 76/100 | −33/100 — better for Hong Kong |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 32.0 µg/m³ | no data | — |
| Natural-hazard risk | 2.9/10 | no data | — |
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 Hong Kong →
Nearby cities
- Yantian District 82.7
- Hong Kong, Hong Kong 95.6
- Huiyang 82.7
- Wanqingsha 82.7
- Macau - Zhuhai, Macao 100.0
- Taipa 82.7
- Zhongshan 82.7
- Huizhou 82.7
See Shenzhen on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →