Is Vientiane safe?
Laos · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04
Vientiane is a city in Laos, home to about 216k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 1,846 of 6,168, with a safety score of 80.0 out of 100, which puts it in the top band of the ranking.
Emergency Fire 1190 · Police 1191 · Tourist police in Vientiane 021 251 128 · Ambulance 1195 or 030 525 7239
- UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country1 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- Xaisomboun Province
Named in the official UK travel advice for Laos (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Vientiane.
How safe is Vientiane really?
Neither Vientiane nor Laos has a published homicide rate in the sources this site uses (UNODC and the Igarapé Homicide Monitor), so the strongest single indicator of city safety is simply missing here. Laos's income inequality is middling (Gini 34.7) - 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 Laos at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2026-07-27). 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 Laos
Terrorism in Laos · Political situation · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Sexual assault · Motorcycle scams · Reporting a crime · Drink and food spiking · Methanol poisoning · Legal system · Illegal drugs and the death penalty · Using cameras and binoculars in secure areas · Getting permission for special travel projects · Relationships with Lao nationals · Smoking and e-cigarette bans · +11 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Laos — country-level, not specific to Vientiane. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- no data
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 34.7country, 2024
- Human development
- HDI 0.617country, 2023
- Income
- $9,800/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 216kurban centre · 2,575/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 17.9 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 75/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 44/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 34/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 3.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.70Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 26.0 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 35%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.3 doctors /1k1.7 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 0 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Laos
- Flood
- 8.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 2.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Cyclone
- 1.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 1.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Laos as a whole, not Vientiane specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Laos (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Laos; 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 Vientiane that gives 80.0/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Vientiane compared with Udon Thani
| Measure | Vientiane | Udon Thani | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 80.0 | 68.3 | +11.7 — better for Vientiane |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | no data | 4.8 /100k | — |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 34.7 | 33.3 | +1.4 — better for Udon Thani |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.617 | 0.798 | −0.181 — better for Udon Thani |
| Road deaths | 17.9 /100k | 32.2 /100k | −14.3 /100k — better for Vientiane |
| Rule of law | 44/100 | 53/100 | −9/100 — better for Udon Thani |
| Corruption perceptions | 34/100 | 33/100 | +1/100 — better for Vientiane |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 26.0 µg/m³ | 23.5 µg/m³ | +2.5 µg/m³ — better for Udon Thani |
| Natural-hazard risk | 3.7/10 | 4.9/10 | −1.2/10 — better for Vientiane |
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 Udon Thani →
Nearby cities
- Udon Thani, Thailand 68.3
- Khon Kaen, Thailand 68.3
- Phitsanulok, Thailand 68.3
- Lampang, Thailand 68.3
- Vinh, Vietnam 74.4
- Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand 68.3
- Chiang Rai, Thailand 68.3
- Nakhon Sawan, Thailand 68.3
See Vientiane on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →