Is Tunduma safe?
Tanzania · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04
Tunduma is a city in Tanzania, home to about 161k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4,016 of 6,168, with a safety score of 64.5 out of 100, placing it clearly above the global midpoint.
Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police)
- US State Department: Reconsider travelOfficial travel advisory level 3 of 4 for Tanzania, updated 2025-10-30.
- UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country1 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
- Same-sex activity criminalizedLaw on the books in Tanzania as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- Tanzania
Named in the official UK travel advice for Tanzania (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Tunduma.
How safe is Tunduma really?
No published homicide figure exists for Tunduma itself, so the national rate stands in: Tanzania recorded 3.3 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Tanzania's income inequality is middling (Gini 40.5) - 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 US State Department currently rates Tanzania at level 3 of 4 - "Reconsider travel" (updated 2025-10-30). The UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country, naming 1 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 Tanzania
Terrorism in Tanzania · Social media · Electronic Devices · Violent crime · Sexual Assault · Express kidnap · Protecting your property · Harassment · Religion · Personal ID · Ramadan · Dress code · Environmental laws · Illegal drugs · +14 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Tanzania — country-level, not specific to Tunduma. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 3.3 /100knational rate, 2024
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 40.5country, 2018
- Human development
- HDI 0.555country, 2023
- Income
- $4,370/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 161kurban centre · 6,980/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 31.1 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 59/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 48/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 40/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 6.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.62Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 20.2 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 31%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.1 doctors /1k0.8 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 137 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Tanzania
- Drought
- 4.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 4.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 4.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 3.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Tanzania as a whole, not Tunduma specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Tanzania (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.
All country-level figures shared by every city in Tanzania; 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 Tunduma that gives 64.5/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Tunduma compared with Mbeya
| Measure | Tunduma | Mbeya | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 64.5 | 64.5 | ±0.0 |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 3.3 /100k | 3.3 /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 Tanzania, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Mbeya →
Nearby cities
- Nakonde, Zambia 55.6
- Mbeya 64.5
- Sumbawanga 64.5
- Kasama, Zambia 55.6
- Mzuzu, Malawi 69.6
- Songea 64.5
- Iringa 64.5
- Mpanda 64.5
See Tunduma on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Africa → · Full travel briefings →