London
United Kingdom · Europe
The safety picture
A plain-language read of the sourced figures belowLondon scores 69 out of 100 in our index, safer than 35% of the cities we score.
Its homicide rate is 1.3 per 100,000, about 0.8 times the median, a figure we calculated from a count and a population for the wider metro area. Robbery is far higher at 388.7 per 100,000, also a derived metro-area rate; as police data it counts only reported incidents, so the real number runs above it. For the United Kingdom we track the US, Canada, and Australia, and all three set the country at their second advisory level, increased caution, each naming petty crime and flagging pickpocketing and scams for visitors. In a city-level survey, 58.5% of residents said they feel safe walking alone after dark, closer to the middle than the low homicide rate alone might suggest.
Safety dimensions
Larger area = more concernHomicide / general violence
Primary source: Office for National Statistics / Home Office — Police recorded crime by Community Safety Partnership area (Table C3)
Robbery (police-recorded)
Primary source: Office for National Statistics / Home Office — Police recorded crime by Community Safety Partnership area (Table C3)
Travel advisories
Primary source: U.S. Department of State — United Kingdom Travel Advisory
Primary source: Global Affairs Canada — United Kingdom Travel Advice and Advisories
No advisory on record.
Primary source: Australian Government (DFAT Smartraveller) — United Kingdom travel advice
Perceived safety
How safe people say they feel, from official population surveys — a separate signal, not part of the Safety Index.Primary source: Eurostat — Quality of Life in European Cities (Flash Eurobarometer, DG REGIO)
Tourist-specific incidents
How often government travel advisories mention each — a source-consensus signal, not a risk rate.Primary source: Global Affairs Canada — United Kingdom travel advice (Safety and security)
Primary source: Global Affairs Canada — United Kingdom travel advice (Safety and security)