Kota Kinabalu

Malaysia · Asia

93Safety indexLower concern

U.S. State DeptLevel 1 · Normal precautions

Global Affairs CanadaLevel 1 · Normal precautions

UK FCDOLevel 2 · Increased caution

Smartraveller (AU)Level 1 · Normal precautions

5/5metric categories covered

Open comparison

5.98°, 116.07°

Regional locator · ring ≈ the figure's geographic unit

The safety picture

A plain-language read of the sourced figures below

Kota Kinabalu scores 93 out of 100 in our composite index and ranks safer than about 75% of the cities we score.

Its homicide rate is 1.0 per 100,000 and recorded robbery is 5.7 per 100,000. Both figures cover the wider municipality rather than the city alone and were calculated by us from a count and a population, so read them as upper bounds; the robbery number is also police-recorded and understates the real total. Three of the four governments we track, the US, Canada, and Australia, hold Malaysia at their lowest advisory level, while the UK sets it a step higher at increased caution. Advisories that cover the country flag pickpocketing and scams. In a national survey, 90.5% of people said they feel safe walking alone at night, a figure for the whole country rather than the city.

Safety dimensions

Larger area = more concern

Violent crime2

Robbery & theft1

Travel advisory33

The radar shows the three sourced, comparable risk measures (homicide, robbery, the strictest travel-advisory level). Tourist petty-crime signals are a different kind of measure — how often advisories mention them — so they are shown as rows under Tourist-specific incidents, not as radar axes.

Homicide / general violence

Intentional homicides (per 100,000)

1/100k

Figure is for Kota Kinabalu (municipality), wider than Kota Kinabalu itself.

Rate computed by project-atlas: 5 (count, 2023) ÷ 525700 population (DOSM — Population Table: Administrative Districts (Kota Kinabalu district), 2023) × 100k.

Primary source: Department of Statistics Malaysia / PDRM — Crime by district (OpenDOSM)

Where this sits on the scaleGuarded

01·3·8·20·40 /100k

Among tracked citiessafer than 66% of tracked cities

1/100k

0/100k safest101.2/100k

Robbery (police-recorded)

Robbery (per 100,000)

5.7/100k

PDRM police-recorded crime — reflects reported offences, not total incidence. Read as recorded robbery, not total robbery.

Figure is for Kota Kinabalu (municipality), wider than Kota Kinabalu itself.

Rate computed by project-atlas: 30 (count, 2023) ÷ 525700 population (DOSM — Population Table: Administrative Districts (Kota Kinabalu district), 2023) × 100k.

Primary source: Department of Statistics Malaysia / PDRM — Crime by district (OpenDOSM)

Where this sits on the scaleLow

040·120·250·400·600 /100k

Among tracked citiessafer than 89% of tracked cities

5.7/100k

0.4/100k safest3097.8/100k

Travel advisories

U.S. State Department

U.S. State DeptLevel 1 · Normal precautions

Primary source: U.S. Department of State — Malaysia Travel Advisory

Global Affairs Canada

Global Affairs CanadaLevel 1 · Normal precautions

Primary source: Global Affairs Canada — Malaysia Travel Advice and Advisories

UK FCDO

UK FCDOLevel 2 · Increased caution

Primary source: UK FCDO — Malaysia travel advice

Smartraveller (Australia)

Smartraveller (AU)Level 1 · Normal precautions

Primary source: Australian Government (DFAT Smartraveller) — Malaysia travel advice

Perceived safety

How safe people say they feel, from official population surveys — a separate signal, not part of the Safety Index.

Feel safe walking alone at night

National survey

90.5%feel safe

90.5% of people surveyed · Malaysia · 2021

Survey figure is for Malaysia (country), wider than Kota Kinabalu itself.

Primary source: UN SDG 16.1.4 — feel safe walking alone at night (UNODC)

Tourist-specific incidents

How often government travel advisories mention each — a source-consensus signal, not a risk rate.

Pickpocketing & petty theft in travel advisories

3 of 3 advisories mention this

project-atlas count: 3 of 3 reviewed government advisories mention this. A source-consensus signal, not a measured risk rate.

Primary source: Global Affairs Canada — Malaysia travel advice (Safety and security)

Scams & fraud in travel advisories

3 of 3 advisories mention this

project-atlas count: 3 of 3 reviewed government advisories mention this. A source-consensus signal, not a measured risk rate.

Primary source: Global Affairs Canada — Malaysia travel advice (Safety and security)