Zagreb scores 84 out of 100 (very high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 241 of 6168 cities worldwide. The score combines the homicide rate, nearby conflict deaths, income equality and human development from published data (UNODC, UCDP, World Bank, UNDP).

Is Zagreb safe?

Croatia · Europe · data updated 2026-09-04

84.5Very high · rank 241 / 6,168
safer than 96% of ranked cities

Zagreb is a city in Croatia, home to about 623k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 241 of 6,168, with a safety score of 84.5 out of 100 - among the safest cities in this dataset.

US 1/4 Exercise normal precautions

Emergency 112 (ambulance, fire, police)

No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for Croatia are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.

How safe is Zagreb really?

The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Zagreb recorded 0.7 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2022 - well below the global city median. Croatia is also one of the more equal societies in the dataset (Gini 30.1), 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 Croatia at level 1 of 4 - "Exercise normal precautions" (updated 2026-05-17). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Croatia 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 Croatia

Terrorism in Croatia · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Attacks and sexual assaults in taxis · Large gatherings, including football matches · Personal ID · Antisocial behaviour · Illegal drugs · Unexploded mines · Hiking and mountaineering · Music festivals · Road travel · Sea travel · Wildfires · Earthquakes · +1 more

Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Croatia — country-level, not specific to Zagreb. Read what each one says →

The numbers

Homicide rate: 0.7 /100kcity-measured, 2022
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 30.1country, 2023
Human development: HDI 0.889country, 2023
Income: $50,410/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 623kurban centre · 4,327/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 7.9 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 76/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 63/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 47/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 2.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.79Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 15.8 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 87%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 3.9 doctors /1k5.6 hospital beds per 1,000

Natural hazards in Croatia

Flood: 6.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake: 5.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Tsunami: 5.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 2.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Croatia as a whole, not Zagreb specifically.

Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Croatia (as of 2025).

All country-level figures shared by every city in Croatia; none of them affect the safety score.

How the score works

Low homicide40%78

Peace25%100

Equality25%78

Development10%89

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 Zagreb that gives 84.5/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Zagreb compared with Vienna

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Zagreb, red favours Vienna.
Measure	Zagreb	Vienna	Difference
Safety score	84.5	80.0	+4.5 — better for Zagreb
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	0.7 /100k	1.3 /100k	−0.6 /100k — better for Zagreb
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	0	±0
Income inequality (Gini)	30.1	31.2	−1.1 — better for Zagreb
Human development (HDI)	0.889	0.930	−0.041 — better for Vienna
Road deaths	7.9 /100k	4.9 /100k	+3.0 /100k — better for Vienna
Rule of law	63/100	86/100	−23/100 — better for Vienna
Corruption perceptions	47/100	69/100	−22/100 — better for Vienna
Air quality (PM2.5)	15.8 µg/m³	10.0 µg/m³	+5.8 µg/m³ — better for Vienna
Natural-hazard risk	2.5/10	2.5/10	±0.0/10

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 Vienna →

Nearby cities

See Zagreb on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Europe → · Full travel briefings →