Is Yala safe?
Thailand · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04
Yala is a city in Thailand, home to about 113k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4,797 of 6,168, with a safety score of 55.6 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.
Emergency 191 (ambulance, fire, police) · Ambulance 1669 · Fire 199 · Police 191 · Tourist police 1155
- UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of this countryOfficial UK government travel advice, updated 2026-06-30.
Deadliest recorded locations nearby
- Bannang Sata district5 deaths · 4 events
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Yala, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.
How safe is Yala really?
No published homicide figure exists for Yala itself, so the national rate stands in: Thailand recorded 4.8 homicides per 100,000 people in 2011 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Thailand's income inequality is middling (Gini 33.3) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.
Yala also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 107 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 83 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Bannang Sata district (5 deaths).
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Thailand at level 1 of 4 - "Exercise normal precautions" (updated 2026-07-06). The UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to parts of 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 Thailand
Terrorism in Thailand · Political situation · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Violent crime · Sexual assault · Drink spiking, alcohol and assaults · Methanol poisoning · Bank card fraud · Job scams · Criticising the Thai monarchy · Images on social media · Buying property in Thailand · Drones · Gambling – playing cards · +16 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Thailand — country-level, not specific to Yala. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 4.8 /100knational rate, 2011
- Conflict deaths
- 107within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 33.3country, 2024
- Human development
- HDI 0.798country, 2023
- Income
- $25,570/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 113kurban centre · 4,914/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 32.2 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 54/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 53/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 33/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 4.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.76Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 23.5 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- no dataof the population · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.5 doctors /1k2.4 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 1 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Thailand
- Flood
- 9.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 5.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 5.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 1.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Cyclone
- 1.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Thailand as a whole, not Yala specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Thailand (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Thailand; 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 Yala that gives 55.6/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Yala compared with Bukit Mertajam
| Measure | Yala | Bukit Mertajam | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 55.6 | 74.7 | −19.1 — better for Bukit Mertajam |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 4.8 /100k | 1.1 /100k | +3.7 /100k — better for Bukit Mertajam |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 107 | 0 | +107 — better for Bukit Mertajam |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 33.3 | 40.7 | −7.4 — better for Yala |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.798 | 0.819 | −0.021 — better for Bukit Mertajam |
| Road deaths | 32.2 /100k | 22.5 /100k | +9.7 /100k — better for Bukit Mertajam |
| Rule of law | 53/100 | 63/100 | −10/100 — better for Bukit Mertajam |
| Corruption perceptions | 33/100 | 52/100 | −19/100 — better for Bukit Mertajam |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 23.5 µg/m³ | 15.9 µg/m³ | +7.6 µg/m³ — better for Bukit Mertajam |
| Natural-hazard risk | 4.9/10 | 3.2/10 | +1.7/10 — better for Bukit Mertajam |
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 Bukit Mertajam →
Nearby cities
- Songkhla 59.0
- Hat Yai 59.2
- Alor Setar, Malaysia 76.3
- Kota Bharu, Malaysia 71.2
- Sungai Petani, Malaysia 71.8
- Kulim, Malaysia 74.7
- Bukit Mertajam, Malaysia 74.7
- George Town, Malaysia 74.7
See Yala on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →