WE CARE about staying safe during our travels, especially when we take our epic adventures solo. There’s no reason for travel disasters when you can prevent them.
That’s why we have special interest in visiting the world’s safest cities, as recently ranked in The Economist’s Safe Cities Index. The Economist Intelligence Unit looked at 50 cities, selected for factors including their size and availability of data. The cities were ranked on more than 40 metrics that spanned four main categories: digital security, health security, infrastructure safety and personal safety.
Wealthy Asian cities, like Tokyo and Singapore topped the list. The other top spots went to cities in Europe, Australia, Canada and the US. In fact, Australia scored not just one spot, but two!
And it doesn’t hurt that while they’re safe, these cities are also pretty incredible to visit.
Here are The Economist’s 10 safest cities in the world:
1. Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo topped the list. Source: Supplied
2. Singapore
3. Osaka, Japan
4. Stockholm, Sweden
5. Amsterdam, the Netherlands
6. Sydney, Australia
Australia performed well on the list. Source: News Limited
7. Zurich, Switzerland
8. Toronto, Canada
9. Melbourne, Australia
10. New York, US
New York made the list. Source: Supplied
Oh and if you’re curious, the cities that came in at the bottom of the list were:
46. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
47. Johannesburg, South Africa
48. Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam
49. Tehran, Iran
50. Jakarta, Indonesia
These cities ranked low in all four of the report’s categories of safety: Ho Chi Minh City, for example, finished last in “infrastructure safety” (the quality of roads, number of disaster-related deaths, etc.), and Tehran was second to last in “health security” (the cities’ number of hospital beds and average life expectancies).
The report notes that wealth and economic development is closely linked to city safety but certainly does not guarantee it. Researchers also wrote that, “Being statistically safe is not the same as feeling safe.”
While there are many factors indeed that make a city “safe” or “unsafe,” it never hurts to consider the facts before a trip — and we certainly plan to do so.
Cheers to safe travels, everyone!
This article originally appeared in The Huffington Post and was republished with permission.
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