Palermo

Italy · Europe

90Safety indexLower concern

U.S. State DeptLevel 2 · Increased caution

Global Affairs CanadaLevel 2 · Increased caution

UK FCDOLevel 1 · Normal precautions

Smartraveller (AU)Level 1 · Normal precautions

5/5metric categories covered

Open comparison

38.12°, 13.36°

Regional locator · ring ≈ the figure's geographic unit

The safety picture

A plain-language read of the sourced figures below

Palermo scores 90 out of 100 in our composite index, safer than roughly 64% of the cities we rank.

The homicide rate is 0.7 per 100,000, below the median for the cities we track, and the robbery rate is 45.7 per 100,000. Both cover the wider metro area and were calculated by us from a count and a population, so they are upper bounds on the city itself, and the robbery figure comes from police records that undercount actual incidents. The four governments we track split on framing: the US and Canada set Italy at their second advisory level, increased caution, while the UK and Australia keep it at the lowest. Every advisory names pickpocketing and scams aimed at visitors. In a city survey, 51.1% of residents said they feel safe walking alone after dark, a weaker result than the recorded crime rates alone would suggest.

Safety dimensions

Larger area = more concern

Violent crime1

Robbery & theft8

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)

0.7/100k

Figure is for Palermo (metro area), wider than Palermo itself.

Rate computed by project-atlas: 8 (count, 2024) ÷ 1200253 population (ISTAT — Popolazione residente al 1° gennaio (provincia di Palermo), 2024) × 100k.

Primary source: ISTAT — Delitti denunciati dalle forze di polizia all’autorità giudiziaria

Where this sits on the scaleLow

01·3·8·20·40 /100k

Among tracked citiessafer than 79% of tracked cities

0.7/100k

0/100k safest101.2/100k

Robbery (police-recorded)

Robbery (per 100,000)

45.7/100k

Police-recorded crimes reported to the judicial authority (denunce) — undercounts true incidence, especially for robbery. Read as recorded crime, not total crime.

Figure is for Palermo (metro area), wider than Palermo itself.

Rate computed by project-atlas: 549 (count, 2024) ÷ 1200253 population (ISTAT — Popolazione residente al 1° gennaio (provincia di Palermo), 2024) × 100k.

Primary source: ISTAT — Delitti denunciati dalle forze di polizia all’autorità giudiziaria

Where this sits on the scaleGuarded

040·120·250·400·600 /100k

Among tracked citiessafer than 68% of tracked cities

45.7/100k

0.4/100k safest3097.8/100k

Travel advisories

U.S. State Department

U.S. State DeptLevel 2 · Increased caution

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

Global Affairs Canada

Global Affairs CanadaLevel 2 · Increased caution

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

UK FCDO

UK FCDOLevel 1 · Normal precautions

Primary source: UK FCDO — Italy travel advice

Smartraveller (Australia)

Smartraveller (AU)Level 1 · Normal precautions

Primary source: Australian Government (DFAT Smartraveller) — Italy 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

City survey

51.1%feel safe

Italy average · 48.8%

51.1% of people surveyed · Palermo · 2023

% feeling safe = Eurostat "strongly agree" (9.6%) + "somewhat agree" (41.5%); both are shares of the same respondents (base includes "don't know").

Primary source: Eurostat — Quality of Life in European Cities (Flash Eurobarometer, DG REGIO)

Report crime, violence or vandalism in their area

National survey

6.4%report a problem

6.4% of people surveyed · Italy · 2023

Survey figure is for Italy (country), wider than Palermo itself.

Primary source: Eurostat — Crime, violence or vandalism in the area (EU-SILC)

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 — Italy travel advice (Safety and security)

Scams & fraud in travel advisories

1 of 3 advisories mention this

project-atlas count: 1 of 3 reviewed government advisories mention this. A source-consensus signal, not a measured risk rate.

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