Safest Cities in the World – Ranked 2025

A global ranking of the world’s safest cities, based on the latest international data across five pillars of security: digital, health, infrastructure, environmental, and personal.

The Safe Cities Index is a report from the UK-based Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The report, now in its fourth iteration, ranks a diverse range of 60 major cities from around the world using 76 indicators covering digital security, health security, infrastructure security, environmental security and personal security. 

More than 55% of the world’s population live in cities. By 2050, this is expected to increase to 68%, which reflects a faster rise in urbanisation than previously predicted.

The process of urbanisation is happening most noticeably in developing countries. The report suggests the challenges of urbanisation could cause significant human and economic issues if not dealt with effectively.

The report is designed to provide a detailed “benchmarking tool that measures a wide range of security inputs and results to help cities provide security for their residents, businesses and visitors”.

Environmental security

1. Wellington
2. Toronto
3. Washington, DC
4. Bogota
5. Milan

Key findings from the report

• Copenhagen has overtaken Tokyo in Japan as the safest city in the world.
• Yangon in Myanmar is the most unsafe city assessed.
• European cities dominate the ranking with four of the top 10 in the region.
• Singapore (3rd) is the safest city in the Asia-Pacific region, followed by Tokyo (5th) and Hong Kong (8th).
• Of the 14 European cities in the Index, only Istanbul and Moscow fall below the average score of 66.1.
• Toronto in Canada is the safest city in the Americas.
• The only US city in the top 10 is New York (11th), while Washington, DC just missed out in 14th place.
• At the other end of the spectrum Karachi in Pakistan (59th), Caracas in Venezuala (58th), Cairo in Egypt (57th) and Lagos in Nigeria join Yagon among the least safe cities.

Safest cities in the world – complete ranking

The table below ranks 60 of the world’s cities according to safety, with an overall average score of 66.1.

City	Score
Copenhagen, Denmark	82.4
Toronto, Canada	82.2
Singapore, Singapore	80.7
Sydney, Australia	80.1
Tokyo, Japan	80
Amsterdam, Netherlands	79.3
Wellington, New Zealand	79
Hong Kong SAR, China	78.6
Melbourne, Australia	78.6
Stockholm, Sweden	78
Barcelona, Spain	77.8
New York, United States	77.8
Frankfurt, Germany	77.7
Washington, DC, United States	77.4
London, United Kingdom	77.2
San Francisco, United States	77.2
Osaka, Japan	76.7
Los Angeles, United States	76.5
Zurich, Switzerland	76.3
Chicago, United States	75
Madrid, Spain	74.7
Dallas, United States	74.5
Paris, France	74.3
Taipei, Taiwan	74
Seoul, South Korea	73.8
Brussels, Belgium	73.6
Milan, Italy	71.3
Lisbon, Portugal	70.1
Rome, Italy	69.4
Shanghai, China	67.9
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	66.9
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	66.6
Santiago, Chile	65.3
Buenos Aires, Argentina	64.9
Dubai, United Arab Emirates	64.6
Beijing, China	63.8
Istanbul, Turkey	62.9
Moscow, Russia	62.5
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	61.8
São Paulo, Brazil	61.7
Bogotá, Colombia	60.8
Mexico City, Mexico	60.3
Bangkok, Thailand	60.2
Quito, Ecuador	58.8
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam	58.5
Jakarta, Indonesia	56.4
Johannesburg, South Africa	56.2
New Delhi, India	56.1
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	55.1
Mumbai, India	54.4
Manila, Philippines	52.5
Baku, Azerbaijan	49.8
Kuwait City, Kuwait	49.4
Dhaka, Bangladesh	48.9
Casablanca, Morocco	48.2
Lagos, Nigeria	45
Cairo, Egypt	43.7
Caracas, Venezuela	40.5
Karachi, Pakistan	39.7
Yangon, Myanmar	39.5