Is Taraz safe?
Kazakhstan · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04
Taraz is a city in Kazakhstan, home to about 181k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 2,803 of 6,168, with a safety score of 75.4 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.
Emergency Ambulance 103 · Fire 101 · Police 102 · Emergency and rescue service 112
No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for Kazakhstan are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.
How safe is Taraz really?
No published homicide figure exists for Taraz itself, so the national rate stands in: Kazakhstan recorded 2.5 homicides per 100,000 people in 2022 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Kazakhstan is also one of the more equal societies in the dataset (Gini 29.2), and low inequality is the strongest structural predictor of low city violence in this data.
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Kazakhstan at level 1 of 4 - "Exercise normal precautions" (updated 2026-08-17). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Kazakhstan 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 Kazakhstan
Terrorism in Kazakhstan · Political situation · Robbery and violent crime · Protecting your belongings · Bank card fraud · Drink spiking and sexual assault · Personal ID · Ramadan · Alcohol laws and bans · Smoking and e-cigarette bans · Illegal drugs · Posting on social media · Taking photos in secure areas · Using drones in Kazakhstan · +12 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Kazakhstan — country-level, not specific to Taraz. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 2.5 /100knational rate, 2022
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 29.2country, 2021
- Human development
- HDI 0.837country, 2023
- Income
- $41,090/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 181kurban centre · 4,306/km²
- Nearest airport
- 10 kmTaraz International Airport (DMB)
Straight-line distance from the city centre, not drive time. Scheduled-service airports only (OurAirports).
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 12.7 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 61/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 50/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 38/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 2.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.72Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 19.6 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 92%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 3.8 doctors /1k6.5 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 0 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Kazakhstan
- Flood
- 7.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 6.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 5.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Kazakhstan as a whole, not Taraz specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Kazakhstan (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Kazakhstan; 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 Taraz that gives 75.4/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Taraz compared with Shymkent
| Measure | Taraz | Shymkent | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 75.4 | 75.4 | ±0.0 |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 2.5 /100k | 2.5 /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 Kazakhstan, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Shymkent →
Nearby cities
- Shymkent 75.4
- Tergachi, Uzbekistan 76.7
- Chortoq, Uzbekistan 76.7
- Chust, Uzbekistan 76.7
- Namangan, Uzbekistan 76.7
- Shahand, Uzbekistan 76.7
- Andijon, Uzbekistan 76.7
- Sharixon, Uzbekistan 76.7
See Taraz on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →