World Safety Map

Is Valencia safe?

Venezuela · South America · data updated 2026-09-04

44.2Moderate · rank 5604 / 6,168
safer than 9% of ranked cities

Valencia is a city in Venezuela, home to about 1.4M people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,604 of 6,168, with a safety score of 44.2 out of 100, which lands it in the middle band of the ranking.

US 3/4 Reconsider travelUK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country

Emergency 911 (ambulance, fire, police)

  • US State Department: Reconsider travelOfficial travel advisory level 3 of 4 for Venezuela, updated 2026-03-18.
  • UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country18 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
  • Very high homicide rate23.8 homicides per 100,000 per year (city-measured), about 9× the global city median.

Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country

  • Border areas
  • Bolívar
  • Delta Amacuro
  • Zulia
  • The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to the remaining areas of Venezuela
  • within 80km (50 miles) of the border with Colombia
  • within 40km (25 miles) of the border with Brazil
  • within 40km (25 miles) of the border with Guyana
  • all of Cedeño Municipality
  • the northern part of Sucre Municipality, from the Orinoco river to 80km south of the Troncal 19 road
  • all of Heres Municpality
  • the northern part of Raul Leoni Municipality, north of the Rio Paragua
  • all of Caroni Municipality
  • all of Piar Municipality
  • all of Padre Pedro Chien Municipality
  • all of Roscio Municipality
  • all of El Callo Municipality
  • all of Sifontes Municipality

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

How safe is Valencia really?

The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Valencia recorded 24 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2023 - roughly 9 times the global city median. Venezuela's income inequality is middling (Gini 44.7) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.

Valencia also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 7 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 Venezuela at level 3 of 4 - "Reconsider travel" (updated 2026-03-18). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of this country, naming 18 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 Venezuela

Terrorism in Venezuela · Political and economic situation · Protests and demonstrations · Crime in rural areas · Armed groups · Personal ID · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · Using cameras and binoculars in secure areas · Networks and internet · LGBT+ travellers · Age of consent · Swimming safety · Travelling to and from Maiquetia Airport, Caracas · Road travel · +5 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate
24 /100kcity-measured, 2023 · ~9× the global city median
Conflict deaths
7within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality
Gini 44.7country, 2006
Human development
HDI 0.709country, 2023
Income
$20,840/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population
1.4Murban centre · 4,818/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths
39.0 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability
36/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law
19/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions
10/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk
6.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security
0.64Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality
19.2 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water
no dataof the population · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity
1.7 doctors /1k1.0 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria
8 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in Venezuela

Earthquake
8.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Flood
5.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Cyclone
5.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Tsunami
5.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought
1.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

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

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%16
Peace25%77
Equality25%45
Development10%71

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 Valencia that gives 44.2/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Valencia compared with Maracay

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Valencia, red favours Maracay.
MeasureValenciaMaracayDifference
Safety score44.240.7+3.5 — better for Valencia
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate24 /100k25 /100k−0.7 /100k — better for Valencia
Conflict deaths within 100 km726−19 — better for Valencia

Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Venezuela, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Maracay →

Nearby cities

See Valencia on the interactive map → · Safest cities in South America → · Full travel briefings →