🇮🇷 Islamic Republic of Iran (ایران)
Visiting: Dangerous
Iran is a high-risk destination. Same-sex relationships are criminalised and can carry the death penalty, which places it 169th for LGBT rights, so LGBT travellers should weigh this carefully. Conflict is the main concern: it ranks 178th, in the bottom twenty, and freedom is close to absent, placed 166th. Its best measures are only mid-range: violent crime is moderate, ranking 90th, and women's safety is fair, at 94th.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Iran: 2.9
Ranked 90th in the world for the lowest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
Just under three killings per 100,000 people a year is low but close to the line where the middle tier begins.
Is it safe to visit?
Fine for a visitor. The rate is well below the world average, though Iran hasn't counted since 2014 — we used the WHO's estimate.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
Iran: 20.6
Ranked 36th in the world for the deadliest roads.
Why this rank?
Twenty-one deaths per 100,000 people a year is well above the world average of fifteen but short of double it.
Is it safe to visit?
Not safe. The rate is high, and it falls on people in cars, on motorbikes and on foot alike.
Conflict
Conflict deaths inside the country in the last twelve months, as recorded by the Uppsala conflict database, civilians killed on purpose, and any UN sanctions or court order over a war. The worst of those sets the colour. Lower is better.
Iran: 4.90
Ranked 3rd most conflict-affected country in the world.
Why this rank?
23,661 people died in fighting inside Iran in the year to July 2026, 19,905 of them civilians killed on purpose. It is also under UN Security Council sanctions over its nuclear programme.
Is it safe to visit?
Not safe. The US and Israel attacked in February 2026, Iran struck back across the Gulf, and the April ceasefire has been fraying since July. In January the state shot thousands of its own protesters.
Freedom
Six freedoms rated 0–4 by Freedom House — protest, speech, press, religion, movement and due process. The weakest rating sets the colour, and the total places the country inside it — higher is better.
Iran: 2.00
Ranked 15th least free country in the world.
Why this rank?
In Iran due process is rated 0, meaning absent, so the courts offer no protection if anything goes wrong. Total 1 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
Courts offer no protection. Executions passed a thousand in 2025, mass arrests followed the June war with Israel, and activists are detained and assaulted. Any contact with the authorities is dangerous.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Iran: Death
Ranked 12th least equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
Same-sex acts between men carry the death penalty, and executions have been documented. Red by law.
Is it safe to visit?
Not safe. Subsidised gender surgery sits beside hangings for gay men. Everything survives underground.
Women's Safety
Women's safety — feeling safe out at night, political violence against women, a fair hearing in court, and how normal violence at home is, with the night figure setting a floor on the colour — higher is better.
Iran: 7.08
Ranked 87th least safe country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
Seventy-two percent of women feel safe out alone at night and few say a husband can be justified in beating his wife. The courts rate poorly for women, and partner violence is eighteen percent.
Is it safe to visit?
A woman travelling alone will find Iran reasonable.