How safe is Belize?
Belize carries one of the highest homicide rates covered — 28.06 per 100,000 (2022, the latest year UNODC reports via World Bank; no 2023 figure was published). All three advisories flag violent crime, and the UK notes a 30-day State of Emergency in parts of Belize City.
Where buyers go
The Belize districts buyers move to, each paired with a US city at a comparable, FBI-sourced homicide rate so the number means something.
2 murders in all of 2023 across ~45K people; −60% vs 2022. The quietest mainland district.
An affluent US suburb’s rate.
6 murders in 2023 across ~48K people; −67% vs 2022.
A large US metro at the same rate.
13 murders in 2023 across ~99K people.
A large US capital metro at the same rate.
57 murders in 2023 — 66% of the national total — concentrated in Belize City.
Graded at Belize-District. Ambergris Caye / San Pedro is a much lower-violence island sub-area, but island-level data is not separately citable — we don’t invent one.
A Gulf-coast US city at a similar district-level rate; the island is not this.
1 of 4 regions earn a C or higher — Corozal leads at 83.8; Belize City / San Pedro · Belize District drags the country average at 3.1.
Belize carries one of the highest homicide rates covered — 28.06 per 100,000 (2022, the latest year UNODC reports via World Bank; no 2023 figure was published). All three advisories flag violent crime, and the UK notes a 30-day State of Emergency in parts of Belize City.
Each bar = number of regions at that grade. Where you live in Belize matters more than the country average.
28.06 intentional homicides per 100,000 people (2022) — UNODC data via the World Bank Intentional Homicide indicator (VC.IHR.PSRC.P5).
Exercise a high degree of caution due to high levels of violent crime throughout the country, with gang and drug-related violence in Southside Belize City..
A 30-day State of Emergency was announced covering specific regions within Belize City and the Belize District (gang violence).
What a D+ means here
A 28.06 per 100,000 homicide rate (2022, the latest UNODC reports) and three advisories flagging violent crime — including a State of Emergency in parts of Belize City — point the same direction. The 2023 rate was not reported and no figure is invented; the grade reflects the latest verified data.
The Safety Score does not average disagreement away. Where the homicide data and the advisories pull in different directions, the composite holds the tension and the editor’s note explains it — because the honest answer for Belize is that the neighbourhood you buy in matters more than the national grade.
Markets that score within range of Panama on the composite.
Fixed reference points so the grade is legible to a North-American reader.
One market read, one process explainer, one number to know.
Free, no sponsors. Cross-border property and retirement, written for North American buyers.