🇵🇸 State of Palestine (فلسطين)
Visiting: Dangerous
Approach Palestine with caution. Same-sex relationships are criminalised, which places it 122nd for LGBT rights, so LGBT travellers should weigh this carefully. Conflict is the main concern: it ranks 174th, in the bottom twenty, and worse still, women's safety is extremely poor, placed 177th. That said, violent crime is close to non-existent, the 8th-lowest homicide rate, and road deaths are low, at 26th.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Palestine: 0.3
Ranked 8th in the world for the lowest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
A third of a killing per 100,000 people a year is far under the one that marks the safest countries.
Is it safe to visit?
Criminal violence is close to nil on this count. The war sits outside it — the Conflict score is what matters here.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
Palestine: 4.7
Ranked 26th in the world for the safest roads.
Why this rank?
Under five deaths per 100,000 people a year is a shade above the EU average of four and a half, and well under half the world average.
Is it safe to visit?
Safe by world standards.
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.
Palestine: 4.71
Ranked 7th most conflict-affected country in the world.
Why this rank?
5,570 people died in fighting inside Palestine in the year to July 2026, 57 of them civilians killed on purpose.
Is it safe to visit?
Not safe. Gaza is still being struck despite the ceasefire on paper, and the West Bank is under record levels of attacks on villages and military raids.
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.
Palestine: 5.16
Ranked 55th least free country in the world.
Why this rank?
In Palestine 5 of the six freedoms are rated 1 and the rest higher. Total 7 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
Ratings are for the West Bank. Israeli checkpoints and closures constrain movement, settler violence is widespread, and the Palestinian Authority represses critical journalists. Gaza is rated separately and far lower.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Palestine: Illegal
Ranked 59th least equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
Criminalised in Gaza under a 1936 British code with ten years, while the West Bank has no such law. Any criminal law is red.
Is it safe to visit?
Not safe. Even before the war visibility was impossible and outings deadly. The war has made every vulnerability worse.
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.
Palestine: 2.24
Ranked 4th least safe country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
Attacks on women were recorded in 2024 at close to the index's worst-case rate, which is most of the loss. The courts rate fairly, and partner violence is nineteen percent.
Is it safe to visit?
For a woman travelling alone, Palestine is dangerous.