In a recent study conducted by the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU), Copenhagen has been named the safest city in the world among 60 others. While Toronto, Singapore and Sydney were positioned in the second, third and fourth positions respectively, Tokyo has moved to the fifth.
The EIU’s biennial safety index includes 5 parameters – Digital, Health, Infrastructure, Personal and Environmental Security which are finally graded out of 100. While the environment parameter has been newly introduced this year, EIU has considered COVID-19 too in drawing the list.
Copenhagen scored 82.4 points in the index and topped the list. Although the city’s health security score was a little more than the average, its personal, digital, infrastructural and environmental security scores seem to have balanced the outcome.
Here is a list of the top ten safest cities in the world according to the EIU:
- Copenhagen
- Toronto
- Singapore
- Sydney
- Tokyo
- Amsterdam
- Wellington
- Hong Kong
- Melbourne
- Stockholm
Mumbai and Delhi in the list –
Out of the 60 countries indexed by EIU, two Indian cities that came as a surprise were – New Delhi and Mumbai which were placed at 48th and 50th positions scoring 56.1 and 54.4 respectively.
The scores show a considerable focus towards digital security. According to the Executive Summary of the EIU, “Digital security is now an even higher priority as more work and commerce have moved online”.
The report said the COVID-19 pandemic had “changed the whole concept of urban safety,” making digital security more important as businesses increasingly move online. The pandemic also shifted the way infrastructure safety was measured as transportation and utility habits changed.
The safe city index has been studied every two years since 2015.
In 2019, when the survey was most recently completed, Tokyo took the top spot, Singapore placed second, and Osaka, Japan, was ranked third. This year, Copenhagen, Toronto, and Singapore took the top three spots.
The US city considered most safe was New York City, coming in at 11th place, with Washington, DC, placing 14th. San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago also placed in the top 20, coming in at 15th, 18th, and 20th, respectively.