Is Vladikavkaz safe?
Russia · Europe · data updated 2026-09-04
Vladikavkaz is a city in Russia, home to about 356k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4,886 of 6,168, with a safety score of 54.5 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.
Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police)
- US State Department: Do not travelOfficial travel advisory level 4 of 4 for Russia, updated 2025-12-28.
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to this countryOfficial UK government travel advice, updated 2026-07-03.
- Elevated homicide rate7.82 homicides per 100,000 per year (national rate), about 3× the global city median.
Deadliest recorded locations nearby
- Above Grozny38 deaths · 1 event
- Karabulak in Ingushetia6 deaths · 1 event
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Vladikavkaz, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.
How safe is Vladikavkaz really?
No published homicide figure exists for Vladikavkaz itself, so the national rate stands in: Russia recorded 7.8 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024 - roughly 3 times the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Russia's income inequality is middling (Gini 33.0) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.
Vladikavkaz also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 54 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 8 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Above Grozny (38 deaths), Karabulak in Ingushetia (6 deaths).
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Russia at level 4 of 4 - "Do not travel" (updated 2025-12-28). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to this country. 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 Russia
Terrorism in Russia · Terrorism in the North Caucasus · Security situation in Russia · Land border crossings · Staying in Russia · Russia’s invasion of Ukraine · Military activity in Kursk Oblast · Foreign fighters · Risk of arrest and detention · Getting help while in detention · Restrictions on publishing and distributing information · International sanctions against Russia · Protests and demonstrations · Protecting your belongings · +28 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Russia — country-level, not specific to Vladikavkaz. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 7.8 /100knational rate, 2024 · ~3× the global city median
- Conflict deaths
- 54within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 33.0country, 2023
- Human development
- HDI 0.832country, 2023
- Income
- $49,220/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 356kurban centre · 4,294/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 12.0 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 50/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 37/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 22/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 3.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.72Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 11.6 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 76%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 5.1 doctors /1k6.8 hospital beds per 1,000
Natural hazards in Russia
- Flood
- 8.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 5.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 4.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 4.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Cyclone
- 2.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Russia as a whole, not Vladikavkaz specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Russia (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Russia; 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 Vladikavkaz that gives 54.5/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Vladikavkaz compared with Tbilisi
| Measure | Vladikavkaz | Tbilisi | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 54.5 | 74.3 | −19.7 — better for Tbilisi |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 7.8 /100k | 1.6 /100k | +6.2 /100k — better for Tbilisi |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 54 | 1 | +53 — better for Tbilisi |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 33.0 | 33.9 | −0.9 — better for Vladikavkaz |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.832 | 0.844 | −0.012 — better for Tbilisi |
| Road deaths | 12.0 /100k | 12.4 /100k | −0.4 /100k — better for Vladikavkaz |
| Rule of law | 37/100 | 60/100 | −23/100 — better for Tbilisi |
| Corruption perceptions | 22/100 | 50/100 | −28/100 — better for Tbilisi |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 11.6 µg/m³ | 18.6 µg/m³ | −7.0 µg/m³ — better for Vladikavkaz |
| Natural-hazard risk | 3.8/10 | 3.4/10 | +0.4/10 — better for Tbilisi |
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 Tbilisi →
Nearby cities
- Nazran 54.6
- Sunzha 54.6
- Grozny 54.3
- Nalchik 59.4
- Tbilisi, Georgia 74.3
- Georgiyevsk 62.4
- Khasavyurt 54.3
- Pyatigorsk 61.6
See Vladikavkaz on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Europe → · Full travel briefings →