Baku

Is Baku safe?

Mostly, yes. Azerbaijan registered 147 murders in 2025, about 1.4 per 100,000 people, and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary calls crime in Baku generally low. Most daytime sightseeing passes without trouble.

Baku asks for more care than Tbilisi or Yerevan, though. The FCDO and Canada both advise against walking alone at night because of bag-snatching and muggings in the centre. The FCDO rates the terrorism threat higher than in either neighbour, saying terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks. Drivers are erratic, and in 2000 a strong earthquake 15 km from the city killed more than 30 people. We score Baku 69 out of 100. Our Azerbaijan page covers the mined districts in the south-west and the closed border with Armenia.

After dark in the centre

This is the main difference from Tbilisi and Yerevan. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says the risk of bag-snatching and mugging is higher after dark in the centre of town and advises visitors not to walk alone at night, display large sums of money or wear expensive-looking valuables. Canada gives the same advice and adds that some women have reported unwanted male attention while walking alone or in taxis.

The survey data match. In Gallup's 2025 report, 74% of people in Azerbaijan said they feel safe walking alone at night, against 82% in Georgia and 85% in Armenia. That is still higher than the 67% in Kazakhstan, where the FCDO gives similar advice for Almaty.

In practice, eat out and enjoy the evening, then take a Bolt or Uber car back rather than walking through quiet streets. The FCDO suggests being dropped off as close to your hotel entrance as possible.

Scams, fake police and taxis

The petty crimes are mostly about money. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary warns that card details can be stolen through skimming at cash machines, so use ATMs inside banks and keep your card in sight when you pay. It also reports occasional requests from government officials for undocumented payments. Canada describes thieves who pose as police officers and demand on-the-spot fines from tourists: offer to walk with the officer to the nearest station and pay there. Canada also reports pickpocketing, especially on public transport.

Local taxis are the other trap. The FCDO says some visitors have been severely overcharged, and advises agreeing a fare up front, insisting on the meter and checking for working seatbelts. Uber and Bolt are widely available and avoid the haggling.

Police check identity documents, and the FCDO says to carry your passport at all times. Demonstrations without permission are illegal, and photographing military sites has led to detentions.

Terrorism

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary's language on terrorism is stronger for Azerbaijan than for Georgia or Armenia. It says terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks, which could be indiscriminate and hit hotels, restaurants, energy facilities, places of worship, shopping centres, embassies, sporting and cultural events and transport hubs. It names no recent attack. The US rates Azerbaijan Level 3 (reconsider travel) for terrorism, landmines and the risk of Iranian drone and missile attacks; it cites a drone strike on Nakhchivan airport, far from Baku, on 5 March 2026. The practical response is ordinary vigilance in crowded places and following any instructions from the police. We reflect this risk in the violent crime score.

Roads and traffic

Azerbaijan recorded 689 road deaths in 2025, about 6.7 per 100,000 people, and fewer than the year before. Of all crashes, 85% happened in towns and cities and 40% involved pedestrians. Baku publishes no death count of its own, but the Interior Ministry's traffic cameras logged 2,546 crashes on the capital's roads in 2025, mostly from speeding, running red lights and tailgating on the big avenues such as Heydar Aliyev, Ziya Bunyadov, Babek and 8 November.

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary describes the driving as erratic, with poorly maintained cars and drivers who ignore one-way signs. Flashing amber traffic lights at night mean cars may go in either direction, so look both ways at every junction. Cross at lights or underpasses and assume no driver will stop for you.

Air, medical care and earthquakes

IQAir measured an average PM2.5PM2.5Tiny airborne particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. They reach deep into the lungs and are the air pollutant most linked to early death.More in the glossary of 18.3 µg/m³ in Baku in 2024, about 3.7 times the WHO guideline, cleaner than Yerevan but dirtier than Tbilisi. The bigger health concern is care. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says even in Baku a serious illness or injury may need evacuation to Turkey or Western Europe, so buy insurance that covers it. Call 103 for an ambulance.

The FCDO says the whole Caucasus is at risk of earthquakes, though Azerbaijan has had no recent serious one. Baku's last was on 25 November 2000, when a magnitude 6.8 quake struck 15 km south-south-east of the city. According to the USGS, falling debris killed 5 people, 23 more died of heart attacks, over 430 were injured, and 3 people died the next day in an explosion from a gas valve damaged in the shaking. Choose a modern hotel, and know to drop, cover and hold on.

How we scored it

Violent crime (83) is Baku's strongest factor, on the national murder count, with a deduction for the terrorism threat. Traffic safety (56) is the weakest, on national road deaths and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary's warnings, because Baku publishes no death count. Walking at night (66) follows the FCDO and Canada advice and Gallup's 74%. Health and environment (60) and natural hazards (60) reflect the limits of local care and the 2000 earthquake.