The present disclosure relates to a cable having a light-emitting element. An exemplary embodiment of the cable has, in addition to the light-emitting element, a cable core comprising at least one cable construction element. The cable also has a reflective layer, which at least partially surrounds the cable core along a tangential direction with respect to a cable axis of the cable and which is designed to reflect light that is emitted by the light-emitting element. The cable also has a sheath, which is designed to conduct the light emitted by the light-emitting element around the cable core substantially in the tangential direction and to couple said light out substantially in the radial direction with respect to the cable axis. The reflectivity of the reflective layer varies in the tangential direction.