9Mtwara
Mtwara, Tanzania: crime rate and Safety score
Safety 9 out of 10 Very low crime
9/10 in Tanzania · 6/10 in the world
Compared with 31 places in the same country (10 = lowest crime).
Weighted crime: 2,442 per 100,000 people (2025)
Crime by type, as recorded by Tanzania Police Force (2025)
| Type | Count | Per 100,000 a year | All places this source covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | |||
| Murder | 39 | 2.2 | 2.8 |
| Sexual offences | |||
| Rape | 201 | 11.3 | 11.6 |
| Unnatural offence | 40 | 2.3 | 2.6 |
| Penal Code section 154: sodomy. Most reports are of children: the same report counts 1,648 child victims of it among 1,757 cases (2025). | |||
| Violence | |||
| Child stealing | 1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Human trafficking | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minor offences against persons | 2,253 | 127.1 | 252.2 |
| Offences the police class as minor, mainly common assault. | |||
| Robbery | |||
| Armed robbery | 0 | 0 | 0.4 |
| Robbery with violence | 11 | 0.6 | 0.9 |
| Theft and burglary | |||
| Theft of firearms | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Breaking (burglary) | 330 | 18.6 | 11.8 |
| Breaking into a home or other building, as a major offence. | |||
| Theft of motorcycles | 39 | 2.2 | 5.7 |
| Theft of motor vehicles | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Theft (major) | 7 | 0.4 | 0.7 |
| Thefts the police count as major offences; ordinary stealing is under minor offences against property. | |||
| Livestock theft | 54 | 3 | 5.6 |
| Minor offences against property | 4,777 | 269.5 | 385.3 |
| Offences the police class as minor, such as stealing from a person. Counted only in these three categories, with no breakdown by type. | |||
| Drugs | |||
| Hard drugs | 7 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| Possession or trafficking of cocaine, heroin, mandrax, cannabis resin or methamphetamine. | |||
| Cannabis | 55 | 3.1 | 8.6 |
| Cannabis farms | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Khat | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Damage and public order | |||
| Destruction of infrastructure | 8 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Arson | 43 | 2.4 | 1.1 |
| Minor offences against public order | 1,248 | 70.4 | 167.4 |
| Offences the police class as minor against state security and public tranquillity, such as abusive language. | |||
| Other | |||
| Child desertion | 4 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Counterfeit banknotes | 2 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Theft from public bodies and banks | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Thefts in banks, state companies, cooperatives, local and central government and political parties, which the police count as financial crime. | |||
| Forgery | 8 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
| Smuggling and corruption | 0 | 0 | 0.2 |
| Wildlife trophies | 12 | 0.7 | 1.4 |
| Unlawful possession of government trophies: ivory, skins, meat and other parts of protected wildlife. | |||
| Illicit local liquor | 69 | 3.9 | 7.2 |
| Illicit brewing equipment | 5 | 0.3 | 0.5 |
| Illegal firearms, ammunition or explosives | 2 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Illegal immigration | 0 | 0 | 1.6 |
| Illegal fishing | 0 | 0 | 0.4 |
| Illegal forest products | 1 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Illegal minerals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Illegal sea products | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Tanzania Police Force, updated 26 October 2026.
Recorded crime by type (2025)
| Homicide | 39 |
|---|---|
| Sexual offences | 241 |
| Violence | 2,254 |
| Robbery | 11 |
| Theft and burglary | 5,207 |
| Drugs | 62 |
| Damage and public order | 1,299 |
| Other | 103 |
