Tete scores 53 out of 100 (moderate safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 5026 of 6168 cities worldwide. The score combines the homicide rate, nearby conflict deaths, income equality and human development from published data (UNODC, UCDP, World Bank, UNDP).

Is Tete safe?

Mozambique · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04

53.0Moderate · rank 5026 / 6,168
safer than 19% of ranked cities

Tete is a city in Mozambique, home to about 421k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,026 of 6,168, with a safety score of 53.0 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.

US 2/4 Exercise increased caution UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country

Emergency Ambulance 848888 or 823388 · Fire 198 · Police 112

UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country3 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
High income inequalityGini 49.6 puts Mozambique in the most unequal quarter of countries - the strongest structural predictor of city violence in this dataset (street crime and robbery tend to track it).

Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country

Cabo Delgado Province
Nampula Province
Niassa Province

Named in the official UK travel advice for Mozambique (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Tete.

How safe is Tete really?

No published homicide figure exists for Tete itself, so the national rate stands in: Mozambique recorded 3.6 homicides per 100,000 people in 2011 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. That matters because income inequality is the strongest structural predictor of city violence in this dataset, and Mozambique's Gini of 49.6 puts it in the most unequal quarter of countries - conditions under which street crime and robbery tend to be a real concern.

Tete also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 6 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 6 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss.

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates Mozambique at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2025-06-15). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of this country, naming 3 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 Mozambique

Terrorism in Mozambique · Terrorist kidnap · Political situation · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Carjacking · Police harassment and corruption · Criminal kidnap · Personal ID · Alcohol laws and bans · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · Landmines · Using cameras in secure areas · LGBT+ travellers · Money · +5 more

Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Mozambique — country-level, not specific to Tete. Read what each one says →

The numbers

Homicide rate: 3.6 /100knational rate, 2011
Conflict deaths: 6within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 49.6country, 2022
Human development: HDI 0.493country, 2023
Income: $1,540/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 421kurban centre · 5,770/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 30.0 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 36/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 36/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 21/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 7.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.55Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 13.7 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 28%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 0.2 doctors /1k0.7 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria: 295 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in Mozambique

Drought: 7.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Flood: 6.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Tsunami: 3.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake: 3.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Cyclone: 2.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Mozambique as a whole, not Tete specifically.

Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Mozambique (as of 2025).

All country-level figures shared by every city in Mozambique; none of them affect the safety score.

How the score works

Low homicide40%49

Peace25%79

Equality25%34

Development10%49

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 Tete that gives 53.0/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Tete compared with Blantyre

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Tete, red favours Blantyre.
Measure	Tete	Blantyre	Difference
Safety score	53.0	69.6	−16.6 — better for Blantyre
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	3.6 /100k	1.8 /100k	+1.8 /100k — better for Blantyre
Conflict deaths within 100 km	6	0	+6 — better for Blantyre
Income inequality (Gini)	49.6	38.5	+11.1 — better for Blantyre
Human development (HDI)	0.493	0.517	−0.024 — better for Blantyre
Road deaths	30.0 /100k	33.4 /100k	−3.4 /100k — better for Tete
Rule of law	36/100	54/100	−18/100 — better for Blantyre
Corruption perceptions	21/100	34/100	−13/100 — better for Blantyre
Air quality (PM2.5)	13.7 µg/m³	16.7 µg/m³	−3.0 µg/m³ — better for Tete
Natural-hazard risk	7.0/10	4.7/10	+2.3/10 — better for Blantyre

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 Blantyre →

Nearby cities

See Tete on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Africa → · Full travel briefings →