Is Yüksekova safe?
Turkey · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04
Yüksekova is a city in Turkey, home to about 104k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,196 of 6,168, with a safety score of 49.8 out of 100, which lands it in the middle band of the ranking.
Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police)
- Armed conflict nearbyUCDP recorded 783 deaths from organized violence within 100 km in 2022-2024 (516 events). Crime figures do not capture war risk.
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country1 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
Deadliest recorded locations nearby
- Al ‘Amādīyah district140 deaths · 58 events
- Zap region102 deaths · 48 events
- Zap31 deaths · 19 events
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Yüksekova, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- Turkey-Syria border
Named in the official UK travel advice for Turkey (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Yüksekova.
How safe is Yüksekova really?
No published homicide figure exists for Yüksekova itself, so the national rate stands in: Turkey recorded 2.4 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024 - close to the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Turkey's income inequality is middling (Gini 43.7) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.
Crime statistics are not the main story here: the Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 783 deaths from organized violence - war, armed conflict, militia or cartel fighting - within 100 km of Yüksekova across 516 events in 2022-2024. That is active-conflict territory, and ordinary crime figures say nothing about it. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Al ‘Amādīyah district (140 deaths), Zap region (102 deaths), Zap (31 deaths).
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Turkey at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2026-06-08). The UK Foreign Office advises against all 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 Turkey
Terrorism in Turkey · Political situation · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Counterfeit banknotes · Drink and food spiking · Methanol poisoning · Sexual assault · Taxi safety · E-sims · Ramadan · Personal ID · Children and accommodation · Dress code · Personal injury claims · +19 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Turkey — country-level, not specific to Yüksekova. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 2.4 /100knational rate, 2024
- Conflict deaths
- 783within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 43.7country, 2023
- Human development
- HDI 0.853country, 2023
- Income
- $44,630/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 104kurban centre · 8,016/km²
- Nearest airport
- 5 kmHakkari Yüksekova Airport (YKO)
Straight-line distance from the city centre, not drive time. Scheduled-service airports only (OurAirports).
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 6.7 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 49/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 42/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 31/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 5.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.66Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 26.4 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- no dataof the population · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 2.2 doctors /1k3.1 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 0 /1k at riskWHO, 2020 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Turkey
- Earthquake
- 9.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 6.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 5.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 2.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Turkey as a whole, not Yüksekova specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Turkey (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Turkey; 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 Yüksekova that gives 49.8/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Yüksekova compared with Urmia
| Measure | Yüksekova | Urmia | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 49.8 | 58.5 | −8.7 — better for Urmia |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 2.4 /100k | 2.4 /100k | +0.0 /100k |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 783 | 133 | +650 — better for Urmia |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 43.7 | 35.9 | +7.8 — better for Urmia |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.853 | 0.799 | +0.054 — better for Yüksekova |
| Road deaths | 6.7 /100k | 21.5 /100k | −14.8 /100k — better for Yüksekova |
| Rule of law | 42/100 | 36/100 | +6/100 — better for Yüksekova |
| Corruption perceptions | 31/100 | 23/100 | +8/100 — better for Yüksekova |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 26.4 µg/m³ | 40.2 µg/m³ | −13.8 µg/m³ — better for Yüksekova |
| Natural-hazard risk | 5.2/10 | 5.8/10 | −0.6/10 — better for Yüksekova |
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 Urmia →
Nearby cities
- Urmia, Iran 58.5
- Salmas, Iran 61.5
- Soran, Iraq 47.2
- Khoy, Iran 68.0
- Van 58.0
- Duhok, Iraq 45.7
- Zakho, Iraq 46.5
- Domeez, Iraq 46.2
See Yüksekova on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →