Guides · Uruguay
The stakes: Uruguay is often seen as one of South America’s safest countries, but crime and violence are real concerns, especially in certain Montevideo neighborhoods.
The facts: Official data shows 369 homicides in 2025, a slight decrease from 2024, with a national rate of 10.3 per 100,000. Property crime is falling, but drug-related violence persists.
The context: Foreign ministries advise normal precautions, with specific warnings for border areas and certain city zones. This guide breaks down the numbers and what they mean for visitors and expats.
Homicide Rate and Recent Trends
Uruguay recorded 369 homicides in 2025, according to the Interior Ministry’s preliminary statistics released on 26 January 2026. That was 13 fewer than in 2024, a 3.4% fall, and corresponds to a national rate of 10.3 per 100,000 inhabitants.
The Interior Ministry’s official series for 2025 is 369 intentional homicides, while a comparison table shows 382 homicides for 2024. Another government series from the Fiscalía General de la Nación shows 399 homicide victims in 2024 and 386 in 2025, illustrating that different official systems use different definitions and closure dates.
The Ministry’s AECA police-statistics figure for homicides as of 23 January 2026 was 365 for 2025, with 2 additional homicides recorded after that cut-off. The final total rose to 369 after case reclassification or late additions, according to the Ministry’s methodology note of 18 February 2026.
How Uruguay Compares with Neighbours
Uruguay’s 2025 homicide rate of 10.3 per 100,000 is significantly lower than that of several neighbouring South American countries, such as Brazil and parts of Argentina, which record higher national or metropolitan homicide rates. However, it is higher than Chile’s more moderate rates, according to regional public security reports.
No single official comparative table exists for 2025 across countries. Still, Uruguay’s rate is well below many high-violence Latin American states, but it remains a persistent lethal-violence problem by OECD-style standards, as noted by InSight Crime in March 2026.
Montevideo Neighbourhoods: Where Risk Is Higher
The vast majority of homicides occur in Montevideo, even though the department with the highest rate in 2025 was Durazno at 16.1 per 100,000, ahead of Montevideo at 16.0 and Rivera at 8.2, according to El País (Uruguay) on 13 April 2026.
The French Foreign Ministry advises heightened caution in Montevideo’s northern and western neighbourhoods, citing Casavalle, Tres Ombúes, La Paloma, Peñarol, La Teja and Flor de Maroñas as areas where visitors should avoid moving alone. The same advisory warns that while daytime visits to the Cerro fortress are possible, visitors should not stray from the main access and should avoid the wider Cerro neighbourhood at night.
A 2026 travel guide identifies Pocitos, Carrasco and Punta Carretas as among the safest neighbourhoods for visitors, while placing Casavalle, Marconi, Borro, Bella Italia, Villa del Cerro and La Teja among high-crime outer-ring barrios to avoid after dark. Violent crime against tourists is uncommon and largely concentrated in peripheral barrios that visitors rarely enter, whereas the real day-to-day risk is petty theft in crowded areas.
Property Crime vs. Violent Crime
Property crime fell in 2025 alongside homicides, including rapes, robberies and thefts, according to the Interior Ministry on 26 January 2026. Full-year data show that robberies (rapiñas) fell from 17,490 in 2024 to 15,656 in 2025, and thefts (hurtos) from 109,413 to 100,337, as reported by El País on 13 April 2026.
The Interior Ministry’s 2025 statistics specifically noted lower counts for homicides, robberies and thefts. The same report described generalized declines in crime during 2025 compared with 2024.
Violent crime, however, remains a concern. The U.S.
State Department warns that violent crime can occur, though the overall advisory level remains Level 2 of 4 rather than a higher warning. The French Foreign Ministry notes that the homicide rate is about seven times higher than in France, largely due to territorial wars between rival gangs involved in drug dealing.
The Drug-Route Effect on Ports and Borders
Drug trafficking, especially of ‘pasta base’ (cocaine base), is a key driver of homicides, according to the French Foreign Ministry. Killings are essentially driven by territorial wars between rival gangs involved in drug sales.
A 2026 summary of official data said 57% of 2025 homicides were linked to conflicts between criminal groups and drug trafficking, as reported by MercoPress on 23 April 2026. Drug-related violence has increasingly affected Montevideo’s port-adjacent and western neighbourhoods, with homicides and armed robberies linked to control over trafficking routes and storage points, although exact port-specific figures are not published.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office notes that border and port-related trafficking concerns are a regional issue, with higher-risk scrutiny near the Rivera area on the Brazil frontier. The UK advisory advises against all but essential travel to the Rivera department and parts of Cerro Largo because of crime risk near the border area.
What Foreign Ministries Advise
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office advises against all but essential travel to the Rivera department and parts of Cerro Largo because of crime risk near the border area. The advisory says most of Uruguay is generally stable, but travelers should take normal precautions in Montevideo and other urban areas due to opportunistic crime.
The U.S. State Department rates Uruguay at Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution.
The advisory says crime is the main concern, including petty theft, pickpocketing, purse snatching and vehicle break-ins.
The French Foreign Ministry describes Uruguay as ‘often considered safe compared with South American standards’, but places Montevideo and Canelones under ‘vigilance renforcée’ (heightened vigilance) due to concentration of thefts and sometimes violent robberies with firearms. All other departments are under normal vigilance (green).
Official Crime Statistics and Methodology
The Interior Ministry tracks homicides through the Sistema de Gestión de Seguridad Pública (SGSP) and the Sistema de Información del Proceso Penal Acusatorio de Uruguay (SIPPAU), according to its methodology note of 18 February 2026. The note explains that the 2025 national homicide figure of 369 is useful for year-on-year comparison, but it is not directly comparable with the Fiscalía series of 386 because the institutions use different closures and classifications.
The government comparison table shows the Ministry’s homicide count for 2024 was 382, while the Fiscalía series for the same year was 399. The Ministry’s AECA figure for homicides as of 23 January 2026 was 365 for 2025, with 2 additional homicides recorded after that cut-off.
Official crime statistics show that robberies and thefts are falling, with rapiñas down 12.3% and hurtos down 8.1% between January and September 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to the AECA bulletin of 13 October 2025. Uruguay closed 2024 with 17,480 reported robberies, the lowest figure since 2013, and 107,845 theft reports, a 5.7% decrease vs 2023.
Recent Trends in 2026
In the first half of 2026, intentional homicides increased slightly compared with the same period in 2025: 195 vs 183 cases, according to El País on 20 July 2026. That was the highest first-half count since 2015, as noted in an INGAR summary on 27 July 2026.
The Interior Ministry’s July 2026 update put Uruguay at 375 homicides in 2025, with a rate of 10.8 per 100,000 residents, according to the same INGAR source. This differs from the earlier 2025 figure of 369 due to later reclassification.
Despite the uptick, the overall picture remains mixed rather than uniformly dangerous. Homicide is high by regional middle-income-country standards, but the reported 2025 total was still below 2024, and property crime continues to fall.
Practical Safety Tips for Visitors
Tourist-heavy areas such as the port, old city (Ciudad Vieja) and central Montevideo require particular attention in the evening and at night, especially for cruise passengers and travellers arriving via river ferries from Argentina, due to elevated risk of thefts and robberies, according to the French Foreign Ministry.
A common mistake by foreign visitors is treating Montevideo’s peripheral barrios as benign as its coastal neighbourhoods, leading to isolated but serious incidents when tourists venture at night into areas north of Avenida Italia or towards Cerro without local guidance, as noted in consular and travel-advice notices.
Most Western governments maintain their lowest advisory tier for Uruguay, and the country is considered one of South America’s safest for travelers, with low levels of violence against visitors and stable institutions. Normal urban precautions are sufficient in most areas.
| Year | Homicides (Ministry) | Homicides (Fiscalía) | Rate per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 382 | 399 | 10.7 |
| 2025 | 369 | 386 | 10.3 |
Sources: Uruguay Ministry of the Interior, El País (Uruguay), InSight Crime, MercoPress, UK FCDO, U.S. State Department, French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, INGAR, Montevideo.com.uy, Subrayado, AECA bulletin
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