180 countries ranked by safety, peace, freedom and LGBT+ equality
Visiting: Recommend CautionLGBT+ visiting: Not Recommended
This is the Silk Road you imagined: the Registan's turquoise domes in Samarkand, Bukhara's trading arcades, the mud-walled old town of Khiva — all linked by fast, cheap trains. Uzbekistan has opened up hugely and treats visitors well; streets are calm and hassle is rare. Homosexuality is illegal, though, so LGBT+ travellers should sit this one out.
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Uzbekistan: 1.4
Ranked 51st in the world for the lowest homicide rate.
1.4 homicides per 100,000 people in 2021 — a low rate by world standards.
Lower than 72% of the 230 countries and territories measured.
How peaceful the country is — lower is better.
Uzbekistan: 1.9
Ranked 84th most peaceful country in the world.
More peaceful than 59% of the 163 countries ranked, scoring 1.926.
Up 2 places since 2024.
Personal and economic freedom — higher is better.
Uzbekistan: 5.5
Ranked 49th least free country in the world.
The Human Freedom Index needs economic data Uzbekistan doesn't publish, so this 5.54 is our own estimate — built with the index's published method: the same 12 categories of personal and economic freedom, equally weighted.
Day-to-day life (speech, movement, religion) scores 5.37; doing business and owning property, 5.78. Scored from the index's own underlying sources — V-Dem, Freedom House, UNODC, CPJ and World Bank data.
LGBT+ equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Uzbekistan: Illegal
Ranked 55th least equal in the world for LGBT+ people.
Homosexuality is criminalised here, with a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment.
Public attitudes score 18 out of 100 — the law and public opinion are not the same thing.