Panama City

Is Panama City safe?

Panama City, the capital of Panama, is safe enough for most visitors who stay in the central districts, but violence around it is rising. The Public Ministry counted 257 homicide victims in Panamá province in 2025, up 20% from 215, plus another 100 in the neighbouring district of San Miguelito. That works out to about 24 per 100,000 people, using the population behind the security ministry's own rate. It is more than Bogotá and far above Mexico City.

The killings are concentrated. In the first seven months of 2025, the security ministry's statistics unit (SIEC) listed Pedregal, Tocumen, 24 de Diciembre, Las Mañanitas, Pacora and Chilibre, and San Miguelito's Amelia Denis de Icaza and Belisario Frías, among the worst-hit areas. 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 targeted killings, some in tourist areas, are mostly between rival drug gangs. The US rates Panama Level 2, "exercise increased caution", and keeps its warnings for the Darién and the Mosquito Gulf, far from the capital. We score Panama City 57.

Where the crime is

The UK Foreign Office names six parts of the city with higher levels of crime: San Miguelito, El Chorrillo, Río Abajo, 24 de Diciembre, Santa Ana and Juan Díaz. Canada adds Calidonia, Curundú and the area around the Panamá Viejo ruins. El Chorrillo and Santa Ana border Casco Viejo, the restored old quarter where many visitors spend their evenings.

For visitors, the common crime is mugging. 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 lists Albrook Mall, Vía España, Avenida Central, Calidonia, Casco Viejo and Panamá Viejo as places to take care, and warns that people have been attacked after withdrawing cash. Use cash machines inside banks or shopping centres. Pickpocketing is common on buses and at bus stations. Canada also reports express kidnappings, in which victims are held for a few hours and driven between cash machines.

2026 has started worse. By 19 May the Public Ministry had counted 230 homicides nationally, already more than in the first five months of 2025, and La Estrella de Panamá reported shootings on busy roads in the capital.

After dark

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 reports violent attacks, including sexual assault, in tourist destinations in Panama City and says to avoid poorly lit areas and not to walk on your own. Canada simply says not to walk alone after dark. Gallup's 2025 survey found 63% of Panamanians feel safe walking alone at night, well above Colombia or Mexico.

In practice, this means taking a ride app between Casco Viejo, the Cinta Costera waterfront and your hotel rather than walking through Santa Ana or Calidonia. The FCDO advises ride-hailing apps or hotel transport rather than street taxis, which are often in poor condition. Registered yellow taxis from official stands are safer, Canada says, but they have no meters.

Traffic and the roads

Traffic police counted 172 road deaths across Panama by late June 2026, with 65 to 75 crashes a day. There is no separate city figure. 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 traffic is heaviest in and close to Panama City, and police have flagged street racing near the Cinta Costera and the coastal highway. The FCDO says driving standards can be poor and roads are often badly lit. Cross the city's wide avenues at signals or footbridges.

Health, water and weather

Health is a strength. 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 Panama City has good private hospitals and clinics, and tap water is safe to drink in most of the country. IQAir measured 10.1 µg/m³ of fine particlesPM2.5Tiny 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 nationally in 2024, twice the WHO guideline. Dengue and Zika are present, so use repellent. Do not swim in the Bay of Panama, which is polluted with sewage.

Panama lies south of the main hurricane track, but storms bring heavy rain, flash floods and landslides, worst in October and November. Earthquakes are a risk too: one on 9 October 2026 damaged villages in Veraguas province, far west of the capital.

How to stay safe in Panama City

• Use ride apps after dark, especially to and from Casco Viejo.
• Withdraw cash inside banks or malls, and carry little.
• Keep your phone out of sight at Albrook Mall and on Avenida Central.
• Do not open your door to visitors you are not expecting; 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 gangs use this trick to rob accommodation.
• Leave the outer districts and San Miguelito off your plans unless you go with a local.

For the Darién, the islands and the rest of the country, see our Panama page. If you are travelling on to Costa Rica, compare San José.

How we scored it

Health (74) and natural hazards (72) are the strongest factors, thanks to safe tap water, good private hospitals and a location south of the hurricane belt. Violent crime (43) is the weakest: about 24 homicides per 100,000Homicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary across the capital's province and San Miguelito, rising in 2025. Muggings in busy areas keep theft at 52, and the advice not to walk alone after dark sets night safety at 60.