Johannesburg Travel Risk — Moderate Risk (48/100)
Is Johannesburg safe right now? Checked 9 October 2026
Johannesburg scores 48/100 on our travel risk index (Moderate). The US State Department rates South Africa Level 2 (Exercise Increased Caution, updated 27 May 2025); the UK has no advice against travel; Canada says: exercise a high degree of caution. No GDACS or USGS hazard events within 100 km in the last 14 days. No change in government advice in the last 7 days.
Natural disasters (score 20)
Crime (score 68)
September 27, 2026
Johannesburg, South Africa has a current Travel Risk Calculator composite score of 48 out of 100 (moderate risk tier); the highest-rated risk category is crime at 68/100; the lowest-rated category is natural disasters at 20/100; last updated September 27, 2026. For official nationwide security advisories, entry requirements, and health notices, see the South Africa travel risk page. Real-time conditions below include live weather, official advisory levels, GDACS disaster alerts, and current news.
Get a personalized assessment for your tripHow safe is Johannesburg to visit in 2026?
Johannesburg currently sits at 48/100 on our composite travel-risk index, which puts it in the moderate-risk tier. Most travelers will be fine with normal precautions, but a few categories below score high enough that planning matters. The highest-rated risk category for Johannesburg is crime (68/100), and the lowest is natural disasters (20/100). This page was last updated on September 27, 2026; the baseline category scores reflect analytical indicators, layered with live conditions throughout the day. Live conditions — weather and air quality every 30 minutes, US State Department advisory every 6 hours, GDACS disaster alerts every 30 minutes, CDC health notices every 12 hours, and news every hour — are cached at the source and refreshed automatically when stale.
Driven by: security (60/100) and crime and scams (49/100).
A score of 48 is higher than the scores of 63% of the 241 countries we cover.
AI safety snapshot · refreshed Oct 9, 2026
Johannesburg, South Africa currently carries a baseline composite score of 48 out of 100, indicating moderate risk, alongside a US State Department advisory level 2. Recent safety headlines emphasize heightened concerns regarding the safety of women runners and efforts to combat violence against women in the country. Additionally, travelers should note a Level 1 global Dengue health notice from the CDC.
AI-summarized strictly from the live public-source data below (US State Dept advisory, GDACS, CDC, Google News). Auto-refreshed at most once per day on the first visit. Not official advice.
Live conditions last refreshed: Oct 9, 2026 14:12 UTC
What should I do now?
- Run a real assessment. Open the calculator for live data (weather, advisory, news) layered onto this baseline.
- Crime (score 68/100): Use registered taxis or ride-share apps. Keep electronics out of sight in public transit. Read recent reviews for your specific neighborhood.
- Transport safety (score 55/100): Use the safest available transit. For high-risk routes, prefer reputable carriers and avoid late-night driving.
- Check your country's advisory. The single most authoritative live signal. Linked at the bottom of every real assessment.
Day vs Night Safety in Johannesburg
Guidance based on our scores and official advice — not a measured score.
Exercise heightened caution even during daylight hours. Stick to primary thoroughfares, travel in groups where possible, and avoid navigating quiet residential side-streets alone.
Nighttime movement carries significant risk. Strictly avoid solo walking after dark; rely exclusively on hotel-arranged transportation or registered radiotaxis, and confirm destination security before leaving your accommodation.
Safety by Traveler Type in Johannesburg
Guidance based on our scores and official advice — not a measured score.
Solo travelers
Crime risk is elevated. Solo travelers should avoid quiet areas at night, keep a charged phone and offline map, and share a live location with someone.
Women traveling solo
General crime risk is elevated. Plan arrivals in daylight, avoid isolated areas, and prefer accommodation with 24h reception. We do not hold gender-specific incident data for Johannesburg, so also check the live official advisory above and local women-traveler communities.
Older travelers
Health/transport risk is elevated. Confirm medical-evacuation cover, plan rest between transfers, and locate English-capable medical care on arrival.
Business travelers
Digital/money risk is elevated. Avoid public Wi-Fi for sensitive work, use a VPN, watch for card-skimming at ATMs, and carry minimal cash.
No group-specific warning is triggered in Johannesburg for families with children (Health 35/100 · Natural disaster 20/100) and lgbtq+ travelers (Advisory 45/100 · Political 30/100): these scores sit in the low-to-moderate range, so standard precautions apply. Local laws affecting LGBTQ+ travelers and gender-specific incident rates are not captured in our scores; check your government's travel guidance.
Score layers
Safety categories
Source: Grounded open data research & citations
Quick facts
| Hospital access | medium |
|---|---|
| Airport risk | medium |
| Road safety | medium |
| Public transport | medium |
| Tourist scam risk | high |
| Night safety | low |
| Last updated | September 27, 2026 |
Live conditions in Johannesburg
Real-time data refreshed from public sources — weather and air quality from Open-Meteo, official advisory from the US State Department, disaster alerts from GDACS, health notices from the CDC, news from Google News. For an AI-synthesized briefing tailored to your specific trip, run a personalized assessment.
Official travel advisory
Level 2 · Exercise Increased Caution
South Africa - Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution
Read full advisory → · US Department of State
Natural hazard calendar & history
5-Year Hazard Calendar (100 km Radius)
| Hazard | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floods | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Wildfires | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
Most flood events within 100 km of Johannesburg happened in February, October, November and December (4 of 4 in five years).
Source: GDACS, USGS; five years to October 2026.
For consular advice on women's safety, LGBT+ travel, and local laws, see the South Africa travel advice & laws.
Check the official entry requirements for your nationality before you travel. See the South Africa entry requirements.
Health notices
Health Notices for this Destination
-
Level 1 - Global Dengue WATCH · 2026-10-02
Dengue is a year-round risk in many parts of the world, with outbreaks commonly occurring every 2–5 years. Travelers to risk areas should prevent mosquito bites. Country List : Colombia, Vietnam, Maldives, Bolivia, Cambodia, Kenya, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Mar
-
Level 2 - Global Polio ALERT · 2026-09-23
Some international destinations have circulating poliovirus. Before any international travel, make sure you are up to date on your polio vaccines. Country List : Afghanistan, Algeria, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger, Nig
-
Level 1 - Global Measles WATCH · 2025-05-28
Measles cases are rising in many countries around the world. All international travelers should be fully vaccinated against measles with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to CDC's measles vaccination recommendations for international travel. Country List : Afghan
Source: CDC Travelers’ Health · fetched 2026-10-09 06:18:29 UTC
1991–2020 climate normals
Seasonal risk & best time to visit Johannesburg
The most weather-stable two-month window for Johannesburg is September–October, when typical daily temperatures run from about 9°C to 25°C and monthly rain averages 48 mm.
Seasonal planning flags include cyclone season in November–April. These are climate patterns, not forecasts.
Climate normals are planning context, not a short-range forecast. Source: Open-Meteo Climate API. Refreshed Sep 9, 2026.
Calculate risk for these travel dates Compare seasonal windows →
Practical safety map
Safety infrastructure nearby in Johannesburg
Johannesburg has 10 hospitals, 10 police stations, 3 embassies, 10 pharmacies and 5 fire stations within 7 km of the city center in the latest OpenStreetMap extract.
The interactive map loads when it approaches the viewport.
Facility list (works without JavaScript)
- Hospital: Unnamed hospital
- Hospital: Akeso Parktown Psychiatric Clinic
- Hospital: Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital
- Hospital: Donald Gordon Medical Centre
- Hospital: Life Brenthurst Hospital
- Hospital: Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital
- Hospital: Netcare Park Lane Hospital (Women & Wellness)
- Hospital: Netcare Rand Hospital
- Hospital: Park Lane Hospital
- Hospital: Selby Hospital(Solomon Stix Morewa Memorial)
- Police: Unnamed police
- Police: Unnamed police
- Police: Brixton SAPS
- Police: Hillbrow Police Station
- Police: Jeppe Police Station
- Police: Johannesburg Central Police
- Police: Johannesburg Central Police Station
- Police: Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department
- Police: SAPS RAILWAY POLICE
- Police: Yeoville Police Station
- Embassy: Consulate-General of Angola
- Embassy: Consulate-General of Portugal
- Embassy: Lesotho Consulate
- Pharmacy: Clicks
- Pharmacy: Clicks
- Pharmacy: Dis-Chem
- Pharmacy: Joburg City Pharmacy
- Pharmacy: Jozi Pharmacy
- Pharmacy: Rissik
- Pharmacy: Spar Lister Pharmacy
- Pharmacy: The Link
- Pharmacy: Twisthill Pharmacy
- Pharmacy: Victory Pharmacy
- Fire station: Berea Fire Station
- Fire station: Brixton Fire Station
- Fire station: Central Fire Station
- Fire station: Fairview Fire Station
- Fire station: Turffontein Fire Station
Map and facility data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Locations can be incomplete or outdated; confirm before relying on them. See this destination’s numbers or browse emergency numbers by country.
Emergency numbers (South Africa)
| Police | 10111 |
|---|---|
| Ambulance | 10177 |
| Fire | 10177 |
| General | 112 |
See nearby hospitals, police, pharmacies, embassies, and fire stations on the safety map.
Medical access
| Hospital access | medium |
|---|---|
| Pharmacy access | medium |
| Emergency response | medium |
| English-speaking care | unknown |
| Evacuation complexity | medium |
Health is generally rated as fair in composite indices, but travelers should exercise caution and ensure adequate preparation. Medical infrastructure is available in major urban centers, though specific healthcare access details for tourists are limited in the current advisories.
Common scam patterns
- Express Kidnapping and ATM Assistance. Express kidnapping is a risk in the region where criminals force victims to withdraw funds. When using an ATM, individuals may encounter fraudulent offers of help intended to compromise their safety or card details. Tip: Stay alert, refuse offers of help at ATMs, only take out small amounts, and avoid using them outside business hours.
Area notes
- Johannesburg Metropolitan Area. The city functions as South Africa's economic capital and financial metropolis, but remains high-risk for visitors due to frequent violent crime and pickpocketing.
Nearest embassies & consulates
Find your home country's diplomatic mission in South Africa for consular support, lost passports, or citizen emergencies:
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Calculate my trip riskScore history
| When | Score change | Tier | Reason / source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 7, 2026 | 0 → 0 | unknown | Data update Grounded open data research & citations |
| Sep 27, 2026 | 58 → 48 | elevated → moderate | Data update scoring v2 |
| Sep 27, 2026 | 46 → 58 | moderate → elevated | Method change (scoring v2) scoring v2 |
| May 15, 2026 | — → 46 | moderate | Data update Editorial baseline 2026-05-14 (round 2: Numbeo + WHO + State Dept + GPI + EPI references) |
Every editorial change to Johannesburg's composite score is logged here, with the source and reason for the change. Live data overlays (weather, advisories, disaster alerts, news) refresh continuously on their own cadences and are not recorded as score changes — see the Live conditions section above for current overlay state.
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Transparency & Sources
We document the baseline sources, coverage scope, and data inputs for this destination below.
Sources used
- SimpleMaps World Cities (CC BY 4.0): Coordinates, region, population for Johannesburg
- Travel Risk Calculator score (method v2): Security, crime and scams, health, natural hazards and current alerts for Johannesburg, from US, UK and Canadian advisories, INFORM, World Bank, UCDP, CDC, GDACS, USGS and OpenStreetMap
- Editorial baseline (Travel Risk Calculator): City-level threat scoring across 9 categories (crime, health, advisory, political, disaster, transport, environmental, digital security, money safety)
Live data overlays on this page refresh asynchronously on the source cadences shown above. Run an assessment to create a trip-specific briefing using your dates and traveler profile.
Baseline scope
- Category scores represent an analytical baseline, updated from official feeds and public records.
Coverage notes
- Transport-hub safety notes (airport, train stations).
Methodology · Full data-source registry · Report a correction
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Disclaimer
Travel Risk Calculator provides estimated travel-threat information for preparation purposes only. It does not replace official government advisories, medical advice, emergency alerts, immigration rules, insurance advice, police guidance, embassy information, or professional security consultation.