--- description: East Asian megacities top the list, while crumbling infrastructure hurt America's standing on the Economist Intelligence Unit's annual list. title: These Are the World's Most (and Least) Safe Cities image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt452a385d45ce8ffb/6988e208656a3f74fdbd2195/gettyimages-513678569.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [cities](/tag/cities/) ## cities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # These Are the Most (And Least) Safe Cities in the World by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 16, 2017 3:53 AM CUT  Japan's Osaka, home to 2.7 million people, was ranked third, behind Tokyo and Singapore. Japan's Osaka, home to 2.7 million people, was ranked third, behind Tokyo and Singapore.JTB Photo—UIG/Getty Images by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 16, 2017 3:53 AM CUT The Economist Intelligence Unit’s third annual [Safe Cities Index](https://dkf1ato8y5dsg.cloudfront.net/uploads/5/82/safe-cities-index-2017-eng-web.pdf "undefined") has ranked four East Asian and three European cities in the top 10, with the top three — Tokyo, Singapore, and Osaka— unchanged from last year. Toronto, Melbourne, Amsterdam, Sydney, Stockholm, Hong Kong, and Zurich round out the top 10. [Crumbling infrastructure](http://time.com/4718012/how-to-fix-americas-infrastructure-problem/ "undefined") — a [key campaign talking-point](http://time.com/4717629/trump-infrastructure-plan-details/ "undefined") for President Donald Trump — excluded America’s biggest cities from higher ranks. Only three American cities cracked the top 20: San Francisco (#15), Los Angeles (#18), and Chicago (#19). New York placed 21st and Washington, D.C. 23rd. London rounded out the top third of the list at #20. America’s cities performed significantly better in digital security, with Chicago, San Francisco, New York and Dallas all landing in the category’s top 10. The survey, which ranks 60 major metropolises on 49 factors including healthcare, infrastructure, cyber threats, and personal safety, showed what it called a stark divergence between the “fast urbanizing developing world” and “stagnant developed world.” While the top of the list features cities known for top-tier healthcare, accessible public transit infrastructure, and sky-high real estate costs, the bottom of the list — Ho Chi Minh City, Dhaka, Jakarta (2015’s bottom-finisher), Yangon, and Karachi — is populated with developing world capitals plagued by overcrowding and pollution. Only one developing city (Buenos Aires, #29) broke the top-half of the list. Read the full report [here](https://dkf1ato8y5dsg.cloudfront.net/uploads/5/82/safe-cities-index-2017-eng-web.pdf "undefined") or check out the [infographic](http://safecities.economist.com/safe-cities-index-2017-infographic "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4983344/worlds-safest-best-worst-cities/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4983344/worlds-safest-best-worst-cities/"},"headline":"These Are the Most (And Least) Safe Cities in the World","datePublished":"2017-10-16T03:53:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:52:03.960Z","description":"The Economist Intelligence Unit's annual index ranked four East Asian and three European cities in the top 10 — and none from the U.S.","url":"https://time.com/4983344/worlds-safest-best-worst-cities/","keywords":["cities","World","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt452a385d45ce8ffb/6988e208656a3f74fdbd2195/gettyimages-513678569.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eli Meixler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eli/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt452a385d45ce8ffb/6988e208656a3f74fdbd2195/gettyimages-513678569.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Cityscape","caption":"Cityscape","creditText":"JTB Photo—UIG/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/cities/","name":"cities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4983344/worlds-safest-best-worst-cities/","name":"These Are the Most (And Least) Safe Cities in the World"}}]}] ```