Brazil

Is Brazil safe?

Safer than it used to be, and safer than its reputation in the places most visitors go. Brazil's Public Security Forum counted 19.1 intentional violent deaths per 100,000 people in 2025, the first year below 20 since its series began in 2012. But that is still about five times the US rate, and property crime against tourists is common. We score Brazil 52, level with Mexico.

Robbery is the risk to plan for

Most of Brazil's killings happen in poor urban neighbourhoods and in the north-east, where states such as Bahia and Ceará have rates above 30. Visitors are much more likely to be robbed than hurt, but robberies can be armed. 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 advice is simple: do not resist.

Where it happens:

• Beaches. Phones and bags disappear from the sand at Copacabana, Ipanema and Arpoador, and "arrastões" (gangs running through the crowd grabbing things) happen on busy weekends. Do not go on city beaches after dark.
• Streets and buses. Phone snatching peaks between 4pm and 9pm, according to the FCDO. US government staff are told not to use city buses at all, because of robbery risk.
• ATMs. The US warns that gangs watch people withdraw cash, and that express kidnappers force victims to empty accounts by ATM or Pix transfer. Use machines inside malls or hotels.
• Fake taxis. Unlicensed cars and drivers using fake Uber accounts have robbed passengers, especially at airports. Check the plate and driver in the app.

Spiking, dating apps and Carnival

Both governments single out a crime that targets foreigners in particular. A date found on an app, or a friendly stranger in a bar, spikes a drink. The victim wakes up hours later without a phone and with drained bank accounts. The 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 says this is especially common in Rio. Carnival brings crowds and opportunists; 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 caution with strangers who want to take you away from public areas.

The FCDO also warns of methanol in spirits after deaths in 2025. Buy sealed bottles from supermarkets and avoid cheap caipirinhas from unknown sources.

Favelas, borders and the Amazon

The US lists three Do Not Travel zones within Brazil: all favelas, areas within 160 km of land borders (except Foz do Iguaçu and the Pantanal), and Brasília's satellite cities such as Ceilândia. The UK advises against favela tours too, saying tourists have been shot after entering by mistake, often by following GPS. Police operations in favelas can turn into long gun battles; a raid in Rio's Alemão and Penha complexes in October 2025 left more than 100 dead.

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 against all but essential travel on river routes in western Amazonas near the Colombian and Peruvian borders, where armed drug traffickers and river pirates operate. Manaus and the lodges east of it are not affected.

Disease, floods and roads

Dengue is Brazil's biggest health risk. 2024 was its worst year on record, and cases rise each rainy season. Yellow fever vaccination is recommended for much of the country, and chikungunya and Oropouche fever also circulate. Private hospitals such as Albert Einstein and Sírio-Libanês in São Paulo are among the best in Latin America; public emergency rooms can be overwhelmed.

Floods and landslides are the main natural hazard. Torrential rain killed more than 200 people in Petrópolis, near Rio, in 2022, and floods across Rio Grande do Sul in 2024 forced hundreds of thousands from their homes. The rainy season is November to March in the south-east and April to July in the north-east.

WHO estimatedWHO 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 16.0 road deaths per 100,000 people in 2019. Night driving outside cities brings a carjacking risk on top of poor roads, 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 coach crashes are frequent.

How to stay safe in Brazil

• Carry a cheap second phone and a single card; leave the rest locked away.
• Use Uber or authorised airport taxi booths, never street-hailed cars.
• Set a low daily Pix and card limit in your banking app.
• Stay off city beaches at night, and never follow GPS into a favela.
• Get dengue repellent and, if your route needs it, a yellow fever jab.
• Read our Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo pages before you go.

How we scored it

Petty crime (38) and violent crime (42) are the weakest factors. Natural hazards (70) is the strongest, since Brazil has no major quake or hurricane risk. Conflict (60) reflects gang control of favelas rather than terrorism. Compare South Africa, which has more than twice 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.