Budapest

Go, but pay attention.

Numbeo's Safety Index puts Budapest at 67/100 for crime — that makes it read sketchier than Hungary's national picture overall (76/100 vs 78/100).

Verified Sep 9, 2026Confidence high
76Sketch Score

City page · part of Hungary

The one number a country page can't give you

What people who actually live in Budapest report

Numbeo aggregates thousands of resident-submitted perception surveys into a per-city Crime Index (higher = worse) and its inverse, a Safety Index — the only real city-granularity crime signal feeding this page, alongside Hungary's national advisory, political, health, and police-trust data.

Crime Index

33.5

Safety Index

66.5

Source: Numbeo, user-submitted →

Sub-scores

Same real inputs as Hungary's national page, with crime swapped for Budapest's own Numbeo number above.

100advisoryConsensus
59Political Stability
54Police Trust
76Health
80Road Safety
72Natural Disaster
90LGBTQ+
67Crime

Local know-how

Staying safe in Budapest, specifically

  • Central Emergency: dial 112 Ambulance: 104 Fire: 105 Police: 107
  • Crime: Budapest is potentially one of the safest cities in the world for its size.
  • • As in most other big cities, pickpocketing is the most common crime against tourists.
  • • Younger Hungarian policemen mostly speak some basic English. Tourists have no reason to be afraid of them unless they break the law.
  • • During the peak tourist season, police patrolling major tourist areas are accompanied by bilingual or multi-lingual students who assist with problems or complaints.
  • By night: Mostly there's no reason to have concerns about Budapest by night.
Source: Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA) →

Legal status (national law)

Legal since 1962; equal age of consent since 2002+ UN decl. sign.

Source: Wikipedia — LGBTQ rights by country →

Pack this, know this

The little things that trip people up

🔌

Plug & voltage

C / F · 230V

🚗

Driving side

right

🚨

Emergency

police: 112 or 107 / ambulance: 112 or 104 / fire: 112 or 105

💵

Tipping

Tips (borravaló) are given in Hungary for some services: in restaurants, in bars, to taxi drivers, to hairdressers, and often to people that fix things around the house, like plumbers and electricians.

Cash vs. Card

The Hungarian currency is the forint, denoted by the symbol "Ft" (ISO code: HUF). Notes come in denominations of 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000 forint; coins are available in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 two-coloured, similar to €2) and 200 (two-coloured, similar to €1) forint.

How this compares to Hungary

Numbeo's Safety Index puts Budapest at 67/100 for crime — that makes it read sketchier than Hungary's national picture overall (76/100 vs 78/100).

See the full Hungary page and all receipts →