Travel Risk Atlas

Hong Kong

Eastern Asia · Capital City of Victoria

Level 2 United States Exercise Increased Caution FCDO United Kingdom No advisory against travel Yellow Netherlands Yellow — pay attention Level 2 Canada Exercise a high degree of caution AA Germany No warning in force

Each opens that government's own advisory for Hong Kong — the authoritative version, updated far faster than this page.

22.9 Low risk
Atlas Risk Score · 82nd safest of 220

3 of 7 pillars estimated from neighbouring countries — global datasets don't cover Hong Kong separately.

city skyline during night time
Photo: Manson / Unsplash

Hong Kong is a very safe city by any measure — street crime is low, transport is excellent and walking anywhere at night is unremarkable. The traveller-facing risks are commercial: electronics shops, tailors and tourist-trap restaurants aimed at people passing through once.

The serious change since 2020 is legal rather than criminal. The National Security Law is broadly written, applies to acts committed outside Hong Kong, and has been used against journalists, publishers and activists.

Where the risk actually is

Risk is rarely spread evenly across a country. The base colour is the code the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives Hong Kong as a whole; shaded regions are those the UK Foreign Office names in an advisory against travel.

Central and Western — Travel with cautionEastern — Travel with cautionIslands — Travel with cautionIslands — Travel with cautionKowloon City — Travel with cautionKwai Tsing — Travel with cautionKwun Tong — Travel with cautionNorth — Travel with cautionSai Kung — Travel with cautionSha Tin — Travel with cautionSham Shui Po — Travel with cautionSouthern — Travel with cautionTai Po — Travel with cautionTai Po — Travel with cautionTsuen Wan — Travel with cautionTsuen Wan — Travel with cautionTuen Mun — Travel with cautionWan Chai — Travel with cautionWong Tai Sin — Travel with cautionYau Tsim Mong — Travel with cautionYuen Long — Travel with caution
What governments advise Travel with caution

This map reads stronger than the world map's colour, and both are right. The world map shades Hong Kong by its Atlas Risk Score — 23, Low — which blends government advice with crime, health, roads and natural hazards. This map shows the advice alone, and the strongest level anywhere in Hong Kong is “travel with caution”.

What the warnings actually cover

  • Whole country — Travel with caution. No government currently advises against travel to any part of this country. The colour reflects general caution levels only, not a warned area.

Shading marks whole regions named in an advisory, but a warning is often narrower — a border strip, one road, or a single city. Read the wording, and check the official advisory linked below.

What drives the score

Each pillar is scored 0–100 against every other country. Longer bar = more risk.

Natural hazards · estimated
10% of score
60/100
197th of 220
Road & transport · estimated
10% of score
44/100
141st of 220
Conflict & terrorism · estimated
15% of score
21/100
108th of 220
Political stability
10% of score
20/100
23rd of 220
Official advisories
25% of score
20/100
113th of 220
Crime
15% of score
16/100
26th of 220
Health & medical
15% of score
0/100
2nd of 220
Women's safety
not in the score
0/100

Biggest factor here: natural hazards. Earthquakes, floods, cyclones, drought and tsunami exposure.

Practical facts

The things worth knowing before you land.

Emergency number
999
Police, fire and ambulance
Currency
HKD $
€1 ≈ 9.05 HKD
Languages
Chinese
English
Visa (EU passport)
90 days visa-free
US: 90 days visa-free · UK: 180 days visa-free
Population
7.5m
World Bank 2025
Capital
City of Victoria
Driving
On the left
Power
Type G
220-240V
Safely managed water
100%
Widely available · of residents, not a tap-water verdict
Dialling code
+852
GDP per capita
$57k
A rough guide to price levels
Visitors a year
55.9m
International arrivals, 2019

When to go

Average daytime high and nightly low for City of Victoria (the middle of the country — there is no capital in the dataset), over 2010-2019. Bars are rainfall; the colour band is how hot the days get.

Mildest and driest around September to April.

Daytime high warm hot
Top figure is the average daytime high, below it the average nightly low, and millimetres of rain under each bar. Figures are the average daytime high; bar heights are the month's rainfall. Shaded months are the mild, drier ones. Source: NASA POWER daily observations, 2010-2019, public domain.

Common scams in Hong Kong

Patterns reported repeatedly by travellers and local police. None of this is about individual businesses — it's about set-ups you can learn to spot in seconds.

Electronics shops on Nathan Road

Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong KokVery common

A camera or phone is agreed at a good price, then the accessories, battery or warranty turn out to be extra, or the model handed over is not the one shown. Grey imports carry no valid international warranty.

How to avoid it: Buy from chain stores with published prices, or shops carrying the Quality Tourism Services sticker. Get the full price in writing including everything in the box before paying.

Sources Hong Kong Consumer Council Hong Kong Tourism Board — Quality Tourism Services

Tailor and jewellery commissions

Tsim Sha Tsui, Chungking Mansions areaCommon

Touts steer visitors to tailors and jewellers paying commission. Suits are quoted low, then upgraded during fitting; stones are sold with certificates that mean nothing.

How to avoid it: Ignore street touts. Agree the total price and fabric in writing before any measurement, and do not buy gemstones you cannot value.

Sources Hong Kong Consumer Council

The blessing scam

Mong Kok, Yau Ma Tei, around templesOccasional

Older women approach visitors offering a spiritual blessing or warning of misfortune, then pressure them into handing over cash or jewellery to be 'cleansed'. Police issue periodic warnings.

How to avoid it: Walk away from unsolicited blessings or fortune telling. Never hand over cash or valuables to be blessed.

Sources Hong Kong Police Force — crime prevention

Risk hotspots

Specific places that come up again and again — either in government advisories or in traveller reports. Everywhere else in Hong Kong is not automatically fine, but these are the areas worth a plan.

Typhoon Signal 8 and above Natural hazard

The city shuts down. Ferries and flights stop and outdoor movement becomes dangerous from flying debris.

Nathan Road tourist retail Street crime

Where nearly all commercial complaints originate — electronics, tailoring and jewellery aimed at one-time visitors.

Hillside hiking trails Natural hazard

Hong Kong's trails are steep and humid, and heat exhaustion rescues on Dragon's Back and Lion Rock are routine in summer.

The National Security Law

The NSL criminalises secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces in terms far broader than most legal systems use. It claims extraterritorial reach, meaning things said or published outside Hong Kong can in principle be prosecuted on arrival.

In practice ordinary tourists are unaffected. Journalists, academics, researchers and anyone with a public record of activism on Hong Kong or China should take specific advice. Bounties have been issued for activists living abroad.

Typhoons

Typhoon season runs roughly May to November. Hong Kong's signal system is clear and obeyed: at Signal 8 the city closes — public transport winds down, shops shut, flights stop.

Check the Hong Kong Observatory rather than a generic weather app, and build a spare day into tight itineraries in September and October.

Compare with neighbours

Sources for this page

Vaccinations, malaria and outbreaks. This atlas does not give medical advice — it is personal, it changes, and it is the one thing worth getting from a doctor. Both national services publish current advice for Hong Kong:

CDC Travelers' HealthTravelHealthPro (NHS/UKHSA)

Check the official advisory before you book. This page reflects data as of August 2026. Advisories change without warning, and only your own government's advice affects your travel insurance.