Cities and Urbanization

These are the safest cities around the world

Australian Protective Service guards are silhouetted as the sun sets at Tullamarine Airport before the arrival of alleged Nazi mass murderer Konrad Kalejs on January 7. Kalejs, a Lativian-born Australian citizen, returned to Australia in the wake of a storm surrounding his alleged leadership of a Nazi death squad in World War II, a claim the 86-year-old has always denied.WB/CC - RP2DRICYMJAA

Melbourne, Australia comes in at number five in The Economist's 2017 safe cities index. Image: REUTERS

Aine Cain
Careers Reporter, Business Insider
Share:
Our Impact
What's the World Economic Forum doing to accelerate action on Cities and Urbanization?
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Cities and Urbanization is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
Stay up to date:

Cities and Urbanization

Big cities aren't necessarily unsafe.

In fact, some of the safest cities in the world are urban hubs that boast low crime rates and high levels of safety.

The Economist's 2017 safe cities index, sponsored by NEC, ranked 60 cities based on the factors of personal security, digital security, health security, and infrastructure security.

Personal security takes into account urban crime, terrorism, and other violence. Digital security measures threats like cyber attacks. Health security considers healthcare access, hospitals, and emergency services. Infrastructure security looks into cities with safe buildings, roads, and bridges. The Economist analyzed 49 indicators across each aspect of security in order to come up with a score out of 100. Safer cities received higher scores.

Overall, however, The Economist found that man-made dangers, like cyber threats, terrorism, and inequality-induced violence are on the rise in urban areas.

No US cities cracked the very top of the list — San Francisco came closest, with a ranking of 15. On the other hand, Japan and Australia each saw two cities make the top 11.

Here are the safest cities around the globe:

11. Frankfurt, Germany

Overall score: 84.86

Personal security ranking: 11

Digital security ranking: 16

Health security ranking: 3

Infrastructure security ranking: 23

10. Zurich, Switzerland

Overall score: 85.2

Personal security ranking: 20

Digital security ranking: 19

Health security ranking: 4

Infrastructure security ranking: 10

9. Hong Kong

Overall score: 86.22

Personal security ranking: 7

Digital security ranking: 5

Health security ranking: 24

Infrastructure security ranking: 7

8. Stockholm, Sweden

Overall score: 86.72

Personal security ranking: 9

Digital security ranking: 13

Health security ranking: 10

Infrastructure security ranking: 4

7. Sydney, Australia

Overall score: 86.74

Personal security ranking: 12

Digital security ranking: 12

Health security ranking: 6

Infrastructure security ranking: 9

6. Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Overall score: 87.26

Personal security ranking: 10

Digital security ranking: 4

Health security ranking: 12

Infrastructure security ranking: 6

5. Melbourne, Australia

Overall score: 87.3

Personal security ranking: 8

Digital security ranking: 11

Health security ranking: 9

Infrastructure security ranking: 7

4. Toronto, Canada

Overall score: 87.36

Personal security ranking: 5

Digital security ranking: 6

Health security ranking: 11

Infrastructure security ranking: 14

3. Osaka, Japan

Overall score: 88.87

Personal security ranking: 3

Digital security ranking: 14

Health security ranking: 1

Infrastructure security ranking: 11

2. Singapore

Overall score: 89.64

Personal security ranking: 1

Digital security ranking: 2

Health security ranking: 13

Infrastructure security ranking: 1

1. Tokyo, Japan

Overall score: 89.8

Personal security ranking: 4

Digital security ranking: 1

Health security ranking: 2

Infrastructure security ranking: 12

Loading...
Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Share:
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

How Kiel became a pioneering Zero Waste City, and what it can teach the rest of the world

Victoria Masterson

April 17, 2024

About Us

Events

Media

Partners & Members

  • Join Us

Language Editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

© 2024 World Economic Forum