🇹🇷 Republic of Türkiye
Visiting: Risky
Do not go to Turkey unprepared: the risks are real. Road deaths are low, ranking 46th, and violent crime is moderate, at 75th. Where it lags is freedom, which is tightly restricted, placed 152nd. Women's safety is fair, LGBT rights are held back by police raids and arrests and there is significant exposure to conflict, all ranking between 113th and 134th.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Turkey: 2.4
Ranked 75th in the world for the lowest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
Under two and a half killings per 100,000 people a year is low but a step above the one where the safest countries sit.
Is it safe to visit?
As far as violence goes, a visitor is fine — well below the world average.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
Turkey: 7.2
Ranked 46th in the world for the safest roads.
Why this rank?
Seven deaths per 100,000 people a year is low but close to seven and a half, which is half the world average.
Is it safe to visit?
Safe by world standards.
Why we updated the score?
The WHO's 2021 figure was Turkey's own count. The statistics institute has published 2025, down from 2024, so we've used the newer count.
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.
Turkey: 2.63
Ranked 47th most conflict-affected country in the world.
Why this rank?
16 people died in fighting inside Turkey in the year to July 2026, one of them a civilian killed on purpose.
Is it safe to visit?
Sixteen people died inside Turkey in the year to July 2026, ten of them in fighting with Islamic State cells, and one civilian was killed on purpose. Nothing is recorded abroad.
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.
Turkey: 2.52
Ranked 29th least free country in the world.
Why this rank?
In Turkey due process is rated 0, meaning absent, so the courts offer no protection if anything goes wrong. Total 6 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
Courts offer no protection. Istanbul's mayor was arrested in 2025 with hundreds of opposition representatives, thousands of protesters were arrested, and posting about the arrest brought criminal charges. Say nothing political.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Turkey: Crackdown
Ranked 63rd least equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
Homosexuality is legal but unprotected, and in September 2026 police raided LGBT organisations across fifteen provinces and arrested dozens. Pride marches have been banned and broken up since 2015.
Is it safe to visit?
High Risk. The state now raids groups and arrests activists, so keep a low profile, though Istanbul's large community persists.
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.
Turkey: 6.75
Ranked 68th least safe country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
Few women think wife-beating can be justified, and almost no attacks on women are recorded. Fewer than half of women feel safe out alone at night, and the courts rate poorly for women.
Is it safe to visit?
Take care as a woman travelling alone in Turkey.