Is Valletta safe?
Malta · Europe · data updated 2026-09-04
Valletta is a city in Malta, home to about 373k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 129 of 6,168, with a safety score of 87.8 out of 100, which puts it in the top band of the ranking.
Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police)
No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for Malta are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.
How safe is Valletta really?
The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Valletta recorded 0.4 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2022 - well below the global city median. Malta is also one of the more equal societies in the dataset (Gini 31.8), 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 Malta at level 1 of 4 - "Exercise normal precautions" (updated 2026-07-08). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Malta 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 Malta
Terrorism in Malta · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Drink and food spiking · Assault · Scams · Bird hunting seasons · Illegal drugs · Swimming and beaches · Swimming pools · Beaches · Road travel
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Malta — country-level, not specific to Valletta. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 0.4 /100kcity-measured, 2022
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 31.8country, 2023
- Human development
- HDI 0.924country, 2023
- Income
- $64,900/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 373kurban centre · 3,698/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 4.1 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 80/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 69/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 49/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 1.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.84Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 10.8 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 100%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 4.5 doctors /1k4.1 hospital beds per 1,000
Natural hazards in Malta
- Tsunami
- 5.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Malta as a whole, not Valletta specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Malta (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Malta; 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 Valletta that gives 87.8/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Valletta compared with Palermo
| Measure | Valletta | Palermo | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 87.8 | 83.9 | +4.0 — better for Valletta |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 0.4 /100k | 0.6 /100k | −0.2 /100k — better for Valletta |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 31.8 | 34.3 | −2.5 — better for Valletta |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.924 | 0.915 | +0.009 — better for Valletta |
| Road deaths | 4.1 /100k | 5.3 /100k | −1.2 /100k — better for Valletta |
| Rule of law | 69/100 | 68/100 | +1/100 — better for Valletta |
| Corruption perceptions | 49/100 | 53/100 | −4/100 — better for Palermo |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 10.8 µg/m³ | 14.3 µg/m³ | −3.5 µg/m³ — better for Valletta |
| Natural-hazard risk | 1.6/10 | 3.1/10 | −1.5/10 — better for Valletta |
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 Palermo →
Nearby cities
- Catania, Italy 83.9
- Reggio Calabria, Italy 83.9
- Palermo, Italy 83.9
- Messina, Italy 83.9
- Ksar Hellal, Tunisia 67.7
- Hammamet, Tunisia 67.7
- Sousse, Tunisia 67.7
- Tripoli, Libya n/a
See Valletta on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Europe → · Full travel briefings →