Singapore

Is Singapore safe?

Yes, and by a wide margin. We score Singapore 91 out of 100, just ahead of Tokyo. Police recorded 91 violent or serious property crimes in 2025 in a city of about 6 million, and the homicide rateHomicide 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 was 0.07 per 100,000 in 2023. You can walk from Clarke Quay to Chinatown at 3am, fall asleep on the MRT and leave your phone on a hawker table to save a seat, which locals do every day.

The catch is less about crime than about rules and weather. Singapore punishes things that are minor offences elsewhere, and the heat is relentless. For entry rules, drug laws and the wider country picture, see our Singapore country page. This page covers the city on the ground.

Which neighbourhoods should I avoid?

None, in the usual sense. There is no district where visitors are likely to be robbed. A few areas feel different at night and are worth knowing about:

• Geylang is the legal red-light district and also home to some of the city's best late-night food. It is busy, a bit seedy and safe. It is a liquor control zone, so you cannot drink outdoors there at weekends or on public holidays.
• Little India is crowded with migrant workers on Sunday evenings and is also a liquor control zone, a rule introduced after a 2013 riot.
• Clarke Quay, Boat Quay and the Orchard Road bar strips are where most nightlife disputes happen. Fights are rare, but police are quick to arrest anyone drunk and disorderly.

For a first visit, the Marina Bay, City Hall, Bugis, Tanjong Pagar and Orchard areas are central, on several MRT lines and quiet at night.

Scams in Singapore

Pickpocketing is uncommon. Police recorded 8,507 theft and related cases in 2025, about 139 per 100,000 people, and most were shop thefts and thefts inside homes rather than street crime.

Scams are Singapore's big crime problem: 37,308 cases in 2025, down from 51,501 in 2024 (SPF). Almost all are phone, message and online scams aimed at residents, such as callers posing as police, bank or government officials. Tourists meet them mostly through phishing texts and fake booking pages. 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 also notes cases of false molestation claims used to extort money.

The face-to-face risk is narrower. Some independent electronics and phone shops have overcharged tourists or added unwanted warranties after a card payment. Get the full price in writing before you hand over a card. Taxis and Grab are metered or priced up front, and drivers rarely cheat.

Getting around and nightlife

The MRT is clean, staffed and covered by CCTV. Trains run from about 5.30am to midnight; after that, use Grab, Gojek or a metered taxi. The one real issue on public transport is molestation (outrage of modesty in Singapore law). Cases rose about 7% to 1,531 in 2025, and the police list public transport and entertainment venues among the top three places it happens, alongside homes. Offenders face prison and caning, and station staff and police treat reports seriously.

Nightlife is safe but regulated. Drinking in public outside licensed premises is banned between 10.30pm and 7am. Being drunk and incapable in public, fighting, or touching someone inappropriately can all lead to arrest, 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 warns that penalties include caning. Drink prices are high, so keep track of your tab in clubs.

Roads are safe by world standards but not as safe as Tokyo's. Traffic accidents killed 147 people in 2025, about 2.4 per 100,000, and the toll has risen every year since 2022. Most victims were motorcyclists and elderly pedestrians, many of them crossing away from lights. Use signalled crossings and overhead bridges, and look right first: traffic drives on the left.

Heat, haze and rain

Heat is the risk most visitors underestimate. Daytime highs of 31 to 34°C come with humidity that makes it feel much hotter, and Ang Mo Kio hit 37.0°C on 13 May 2023, equalling the national record. Since July 2023 the government has published a heat stress advisory based on wet-bulb globe temperature, which the NEA myENV app shows by area. Walk through malls and underground links in the afternoon, drink more water than you think you need, and save the Botanic Gardens or MacRitchie trails for early morning.

Afternoon storms bring lightning and short flash floods, mostly in low spots, that drain within an hour. Air is usually good: annual 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 was 11.4 µg/m³ in 2024 (IQAir), about the same as Prague. Between June and October, smoke from fires in Indonesia can push it to unhealthy levels for days; check the PSI reading if you have asthma. Dengue is present all year, so use repellent in parks and gardens. Tap water is safe everywhere and hospitals are excellent but expensive.

For a city with similar crime levels but bigger natural risks, compare Hong Kong, where typhoons rather than heat shut the city down.

How we scored it

Violent crime (98) and walking at night (93) are as good as anywhere we score. Traffic (87) loses points for a road death rate slightly above our top band, and health and environment (86) for air just above 10 µg/m³ and dengue. Natural hazards (88) reflects year-round heat rather than any major disaster risk.