Andorra

Andorra is safe for visitors in every ordinary sense: street crime is rare, there is no terrorism record, and the US State Department rates it Level 1. What sends people to hospital here is the mountains. Ski collisions, falls on icy paths, avalanches off-piste, thunderstorms on summer ridges and slippery roads into the country cause far more harm than crime. We score Andorra 88, a little above Spain and below Switzerland, which shares its Alpine-style risks.

Is Andorra safe from crime?

Yes, though the numbers need care. Andorra has around 89,000 residents and receives millions of shoppers and skiers a year, so rates per resident overstate the risk for any one visitor. Police recorded 4,009 offences in 2025, about 45 per 1,000 residents and 2.5% fewer than in 2024.

Homicide is where small numbers mislead most. Andorra's statistics office lists 10 intentional homicideHomicide 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 offences from 2021 to 2025: one each in 2021 and 2022, none in 2023, seven in 2024 (three of them domestic) and one in 2025. A five-year average works out at about 2.3 per 100,000 a year; the bad year of 2024 alone would show over 8. We score on the average. 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 street crime as rare and does not report violence aimed at visitors.

Theft is the more likely nuisance. Police recorded 691 thefts in 2025, up 22%, while break-ins and robberies fell by a third to 63. The prosecutor's office says much of the rise in shop thefts comes from organised groups targeting big retailers rather than visitors. The FCDO's specific warning is about drink spiking with GHB and similar drugs in bars, so buy your own drinks and keep them in view.

Two laws catch visitors: drinking alcohol in the street is illegal, and Andorra has zero tolerance for drugs. Possession of even a small amount can mean refusal of entry, expulsion, a fine or prison.

Avalanches, skiing and mountain risks

The ski areas of Grandvalira and Pal Arinsal are well run, and most injuries on pistes are collisions and falls, not avalanches. Avalanche risk is real off-piste and on spring snow, and it changes daily. 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 advises checking weather and avalanche conditions through the European Avalanche Warning Services before you go.

• Stay on marked, open pistes unless you are trained and carry a transceiver, probe and shovel.
• Most fatal avalanches in Europe happen at moderate danger levels (2 and 3), not only at the highest ones.
• Wear a helmet and slow down near lifts and on crowded blue runs.
• In summer, start hikes early. Thunderstorms build over the high valleys in the afternoon, and lightning on exposed ridges is a serious danger.

Call 112 for mountain rescue. A helicopter rescue is not free, and the FCDO notes that the EHIC and GHIC are not valid in Andorra, so check that your travel insurance names skiing, hiking and evacuation.

Are Andorra's roads safe?

Reasonably, with a mountain twist. WHO estimatesWHO road-death estimateThe World Health Organization's estimate of road traffic deaths per 100,000 people in a country, adjusted for deaths that police statistics miss.More in the glossary 2.5 road deaths per 100,000 people in 2021, among the lowest rates in Europe. Police counted 533 crashes and one death in 2025, an 81-year-old pedestrian hit on a crossing in Andorra la Vella. In 2024 six people died, one of the worst years since 2018. Averaged over the two years that is about 4 deaths per 100,000 residents, and far lower per vehicle, since much of the traffic is visitors.

The conditions are what matter. Andorra has no airport and no railway, so everyone arrives by road, from Spain through La Seu d'Urgell or from France over a high pass that can close in snowstorms. From 1 November to 15 May you must fit winter tyres or carry snow chains. Alcohol or drugs played a part in 16% of crashes in 2025, 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 drink-driving penalties are strict: fines of up to €600, a two-month ban and possible impounding of the car. Buses from Barcelona and Toulouse are a sensible alternative in deep winter.

Health care in Andorra

Care is of a good European standard. There is one general hospital in Escaldes-Engordany and medical centres in every parish. CDC lists routine vaccines, including measles, plus hepatitis B for unvaccinated travellers, and rabid dogs are not commonly found. The real health risks are injury, cold and, for some visitors, the altitude of the high ski areas. For an ambulance dial 116.

How to stay safe in Andorra

• Buy travel insurance that covers skiing, hiking, mountain rescue and evacuation.
• Check the avalanche bulletin and weather each morning in winter.
• Fit winter tyres or carry chains from November to mid-May, and check the pass before driving in from France.
• Do not drink in the street, and keep your drink in sight in bars.
• Save the numbers: 110 police, 116 ambulance, 118 fire, 112 mountain rescue.

How we scored it

Conflict (93) is the strongest factor, with no terrorism record and a Level 1 US advisoryUS travel advisoryThe US State Department's rating of each country from Level 1 (exercise normal precautions) to Level 4 (do not travel).More in the glossary. Violent crime (87) is good but held back by the cluster of cases in 2024, and petty crime (85) is low. Road safety (91) rests on WHO's 2021 estimate of 2.5 per 100,000, trimmed a little for the bad year of 2024 on mountain roads. Natural hazards (78) are the weakest factor because avalanches, storms and mountain accidents are the main way visitors get hurt. Confidence is medium: the UNODC series for Andorra is years old, and the current crime figures come from national police statistics.