Think twice.
Numbeo's Safety Index puts Nairobi at 41/100 for crime — that makes it read sketchier than Kenya's national picture overall (50/100 vs 51/100).
City page · part of Kenya
The one number a country page can't give you
What people who actually live in Nairobi 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 Kenya's national advisory, political, health, and police-trust data.
Crime Index
59.1
Safety Index
40.9
Sub-scores
Same real inputs as Kenya's national page, with crime swapped for Nairobi's own Numbeo number above.
Local know-how
Staying safe in Nairobi, specifically
- • Nairobi has a reputation for thievery.
- • Kenyans are proud people and there is not a lot of begging like you find in some other countries.
- • Outside of tourist and expat communities, young children will become excited at the sight of a white person and may come running towards you to try to shake your hand while yelling out 'mzungu' (white person) or 'how are you?'.
- • Slums should be avoided by tourists as you will attract a lot of attention which can quickly turn into a dangerous situation.
- • Apart from the inner city centre, Nairobi dies out at night. Streets are mostly empty.…
Legal status (national law)
Illegal since 1 August 1897 (as the East Africa Protectorate) Penalty: up to 14 years imprisonment. (repeal proposed)
Source: Wikipedia — LGBTQ rights by country →Pack this, know this
The little things that trip people up
Plug & voltage
G · 240V
Driving side
left
Emergency
police: 112 or 999 or 911 / ambulance: 112 or 999 or 911 / fire: 112 or 999 or 911
SIM / Data
Safaricom, Airtel, Telkom: After purchasing a starter SIM card you may access the net instantly, if you have an Internet-capable handset or a modem. However, when using your account balance to pay for access, the prices are steep. It is much cheaper to purchase a data bundle, and the more expensive ones offer much better price/limit ratio. For example, in 2023, a 5GB data bundle good for one month
Cash vs. Card
The currency is the Kenyan shilling, denoted "Ksh" or by "/-" following the number (ISO code: KES). It can be divided into 100 cents, though the smallest denomination in circulation is the 1 shilling coin.
How this compares to Kenya
Numbeo's Safety Index puts Nairobi at 41/100 for crime — that makes it read sketchier than Kenya's national picture overall (50/100 vs 51/100).
See the full Kenya page and all receipts →