Whether traveling abroad or starting a new life in a new country, finding a safe and secure destination helps relieve any stress or uncertainty. The level of safety and security, of course, varies from country to country and city to city.
To measure a country’s safety, the Global Peace Index is used. To measure a city’s safety, the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Safe Cities Index (SCI) is used. The SCI ranked 60 destinations around the world across 57 indicators covering their digital security, health security, infrastructure, and personal safety. Based on this, cities are given a score between 0 and 100.
This report is important because 56% of humans live in cities. By 2050, it is estimated that 68% of people will live in cities. Growth of cities will be inevitable over the years, and urban management will be essential in defining the quality of life for the increasing population of humanity living in cities. An important factor in successful urban management is the city’s ability to provide a safe and secure environment for its residents, businesses, and visitors.
The ten safest cities in the world are:
3. Osaka, Japan (90.9) 4. Amsterdam, The Netherlands (88.0) 5. Sydney, Australia (87.9) 6. Toronto, Canada (87.8) 7. Washington D.C., United States (87.6) 8. Copenhagen, Denmark (87.4) 9. Seoul, South Korea (87.4) 10. Melbourne, Australia (87.3)According to the SCI, Tokyo, Japan is the safest city in the world with a score of 92. Following closely is Singapore with a score of 91.5 and Osaka with a score of 90.9. Singapore ranked first in infrastructure security and personal security, while Tokyo ranked first for digital security and Osaka ranked first for health security.
Asia-Pacific cities make up six of the top ten safest countries on the list; however, a city’s geographic region does not have a statistical link with its safety and security. Tokyo, Singapore, and Osaka lead in safety not because they are in Asia, but because of their individual strengths in each of the categories.
There is, however, a correlation between high income and a safer city. Those cities with higher average incomes reflected that wealth through investment in better healthcare systems and quality infrastructure. Cities at the bottom of the list tend to be located in developing nations. Additionally, there is a correlation between fair, accountable governments
The SCI results are not evenly distributed, with a large number of cities clustered at the top score, meaning that the top cities are more similar to one another than to those ranked lower. The top 24 safest cities are separated by only 10 points.
At the bottom of the list are Lagos in Nigeria, Caracas in Venezuela, Yangon in Myanmar, Karachi in Pakistan, and Dhaka in Bangladesh.
Ranking | City | Overall | Digital Sec. | Health Sec. | Infrastructure Sec. | Personal Sec. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tokyo | 92 | 94.4 | 87.5 | 94.3 | 91.7 |
| 2 | Singapore | 91.5 | 93.1 | 80.9 | 96.9 | 95.3 |
| 3 | Osaka | 90.9 | 89.4 | 88.5 | 94.5 | 91.1 |
| 4 | Amsterdam | 88 | 89 | 81.6 | 92 | 89.4 |
| 5 | Sydney | 87.9 | 89.4 | 79.8 | 93.5 | 89.1 |
| 6 | Toronto | 87.8 | 90.6 | 77.4 | 92.5 | 90.8 |
| 7 | Washington D.C. | 87.6 | 92.2 | 81.1 | 93.1 | 84 |
| 8 | Copenhagen | 87.4 | 87.3 | 79.8 | 89 | 93.6 |
| 8 | Seoul | 87.4 | 84.7 | 85.2 | 92.4 | 87.5 |
| 10 | Melbourne | 87.3 | 89.4 | 79.3 | 93.5 | 86.8 |
| 11 | Chicago | 86.7 | 92.9 | 77.1 | 93 | 83.8 |
| 12 | Stockholm | 86.5 | 85.5 | 81.6 | 87.5 | 91.3 |
| 13 | San Francisco | 85.9 | 91.4 | 77.2 | 91.7 | 83.3 |
| 14 | London | 85.7 | 90.2 | 78 | 90.4 | 84.3 |
| 15 | New York | 85.5 | 91.1 | 76.1 | 92.5 | 82.2 |
| 16 | Frankfurt | 85.4 | 78.9 | 81.2 | 93.7 | 87.7 |
| 17 | Los Angeles | 85.2 | 91.4 | 75.8 | 92.2 | 81.3 |
| 18 | Wellington | 84.5 | 80.2 | 72.9 | 93.2 | 91.5 |
| 18 | Zurich | 84.5 | 80.8 | 80.8 | 88.5 | 87.8 |
| 20 | Hong Kong | 83.7 | 78.8 | 73.2 | 91.1 | 91.9 |
| 21 | Dallas | 83.1 | 91.3 | 75.9 | 81.9 | 83.3 |
| 22 | Taipei | 82.5 | 77 | 80.2 | 87.1 | 85.8 |
| 23 | Paris | 82.4 | 80 | 78.7 | 85.9 | 85.2 |
| 24 | Brussels | 82.1 | 74 | 79.3 | 88.9 | 86.3 |
| 25 | Madrid | 81.4 | 69.2 | 76.1 | 94.2 | 86.2 |
| 26 | Barcelona | 81.2 | 69.2 | 75.2 | 94.4 | 86 |
| 27 | Abu Dhabi | 79.5 | 74.1 | 71.8 | 83.2 | 88.9 |
| 28 | Dubai | 79.1 | 74.1 | 70.5 | 83.2 | 88.6 |
| 29 | Milan | 78.1 | 72.5 | 74.9 | 82.8 | 82.4 |
| 30 | Rome | 76.4 | 67.5 | 75.1 | 83.1 | 79.8 |
| 31 | Beijing | 70.5 | 58.1 | 68 | 72.1 | 83.9 |
| 32 | Shanghai | 70.2 | 57.4 | 67.5 | 72 | 84 |
| 33 | Santiago | 69.8 | 64.6 | 64.4 | 71 | 79.4 |
| 34 | Buenos Aires | 69.7 | 65 | 69.8 | 71.2 | 72.9 |
| 35 | Kuala Lumpur | 66.3 | 54.4 | 64.4 | 64.7 | 81.8 |
| 36 | Istanbul | 66.1 | 61.9 | 61.7 | 75.8 | 65.2 |
| 37 | Moscow | 65.8 | 42.8 | 71.5 | 73.6 | 75.3 |
| 38 | Kuwait City | 64.5 | 56.4 | 64.8 | 56.4 | 80.4 |
| 39 | Riyadh | 62.5 | 56.5 | 62.9 | 54.8 | 75.9 |
| 40 | Mexico City | 61.6 | 58.4 | 64.1 | 61.5 | 62.3 |
| 41 | Rio de Janeiro | 60.9 | 52.7 | 64.7 | 57.7 | 68.4 |
| 42 | Sao Paulo | 59.7 | 49.4 | 64.7 | 57.2 | 67.5 |
| 43 | Manila | 59.2 | 52.1 | 56.6 | 53.6 | 74.7 |
| 44 | Johannesburg | 58.6 | 60.2 | 53.2 | 57.8 | 63.2 |
| 45 | Lima | 58.2 | 49.8 | 60.7 | 53 | 69.3 |
| 45 | Mumbai | 58.2 | 51 | 55.8 | 50 | 76.2 |
| 47 | Bangkok | 57.6 | 56.2 | 59.9 | 52.5 | 61.8 |
| 47 | Ho Chi Minh City | 57.6 | 40.2 | 56.3 | 55.4 | 78.7 |
| 49 | Baku | 56.4 | 51.7 | 64 | 46.3 | 63.7 |
| 50 | Quito | 55.3 | 54.5 | 59.4 | 49.9 | 57.5 |
| 51 | Bogota | 55.1 | 54.7 | 59.1 | 53.9 | 52.8 |
| 52 | New Delhi | 55 | 51 | 54.6 | 40.7 | 73.6 |
| 53 | Jakarta | 54.5 | 42.3 | 51.7 | 52.3 | 71.7 |
| 54 | Casablanca | 53.5 | 44.9 | 50 | 49.6 | 69.5 |
| 55 | Cairo | 48.6 | 40.7 | 46.1 | 48.2 | 59.3 |
| 56 | Dhaka | 44.6 | 41.9 | 45.1 | 34.2 | 57.4 |
| 57 | Karachi | 43.5 | 43.1 | 39 | 46.1 | 45.9 |
| 58 | Yangon | 41.9 | 27.8 | 42.3 | 45.3 | 52.3 |
| 59 | Caracas | 40.1 | 42.9 | 48.1 | 27.3 | 42.1 |
| 60 | Lagos | 38.1 | 42.2 | 34.1 | 37.4 | 38.7 |