Ulaanbaatar scores 66 out of 100 (high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 3834 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 Ulaanbaatar safe?

Mongolia · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04

66.3High · rank 3834 / 6,168
safer than 38% of ranked cities

Ulaanbaatar is a city in Mongolia, home to about 1.6M people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 3,834 of 6,168, with a safety score of 66.3 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.

US 1/4 Exercise normal precautions

Emergency Ambulance 103 · Fire 101 · Police 102 (includes traffic police)

Elevated homicide rate6.9 homicides per 100,000 per year (city-measured), about 3× the global city median.

No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for Mongolia are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.

How safe is Ulaanbaatar really?

The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Ulaanbaatar recorded 6.9 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2020 - roughly 3 times the global city median. Mongolia is also one of the more equal societies in the dataset (Gini 31.4), 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 Mongolia at level 1 of 4 - "Exercise normal precautions" (updated 2026-07-28). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Mongolia 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 Mongolia

Terrorism in Mongolia · Political situation · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Reporting crime · Personal ID · Respecting religious customs · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · Using cameras · LGBT+ travellers · Wildlife, animal products and souvenirs · Phone and wifi coverage · Driving standards and road conditions · Extreme weather and natural disasters

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 6.9 /100kcity-measured, 2020 · ~3× the global city median
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 31.4country, 2022
Human development: HDI 0.747country, 2023
Income: $18,460/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 1.6Murban centre · 6,625/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 21.0 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 73/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 55/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 31/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 2.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.80Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 42.7 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 43%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 4.1 doctors /1k8.6 hospital beds per 1,000

Natural hazards in Mongolia

Flood: 6.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 6.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake: 2.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

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

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%38

Peace25%100

Equality25%75

Development10%75

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 Ulaanbaatar that gives 66.3/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Ulaanbaatar compared with Ulan-Ude

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Ulaanbaatar, red favours Ulan-Ude.
Measure	Ulaanbaatar	Ulan-Ude	Difference
Safety score	66.3	65.4	+0.9 — better for Ulaanbaatar
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	6.9 /100k	7.8 /100k	−0.9 /100k — better for Ulaanbaatar
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	0	±0
Income inequality (Gini)	31.4	33.0	−1.6 — better for Ulaanbaatar
Human development (HDI)	0.747	0.832	−0.085 — better for Ulan-Ude
Road deaths	21.0 /100k	12.0 /100k	+9.0 /100k — better for Ulan-Ude
Rule of law	55/100	37/100	+18/100 — better for Ulaanbaatar
Corruption perceptions	31/100	22/100	+9/100 — better for Ulaanbaatar
Air quality (PM2.5)	42.7 µg/m³	11.6 µg/m³	+31.1 µg/m³ — better for Ulan-Ude
Natural-hazard risk	2.6/10	3.8/10	−1.2/10 — better for Ulaanbaatar

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 Ulan-Ude →

Nearby cities

See Ulaanbaatar on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →