The Economist's Intelligence Unit has once again published a ranking of the safest major cities in the world and Tokyo comes out tops, followed by Singapore.
The Safe Index 2015 looks at the performance of 50 cities based on a selection of factors including digital and health security, infrastructure and personal safety.
According to the report, as cities become ever more complicated ecosystems, a safe environment must be created for citizens across the entire landscape, targeting crime online as much as on the street.
And while Singapore is currently enjoying some of its lowest traditional crime levels of the decade, it's also had to battle with an increased amount of reported cyber-related offences, pushing it three points behind Japan in terms of digital security. The report notes that the wealthy city-state is however moving towards becoming a more technologically savvy "smart nation" in various ways, including introducing a cybercrime agency. Here's a summary of how Singapore performed in other aspects of "safety":
Health security: Dropped from second to 12th despite being a consistently high-income city cited often as a leader in healthcare. It ranks joint first for its quality of health services, but falls into the bottom half for the number of hospital beds and doctors per 1,000 people. For air quality, Singapore ranks 17th behind London and on par with Paris. Currently Zurich, New York and Brussels top the overall ranking for health security.
Infrastructure safety: Singapore has dropped from 2nd to 7th in this category, which analyses how cities maintain and upgrade their existing systems and structures, among other things. The report however notes that Singapore is planning to install 1,000 sensors across the city this year to monitor a variety of conditions including water levels, traffic congestion, crowds and air quality. Zurich, Melbourne and Sydney top this list.
Personal safety: This is where Singapore continues to excel — it's moved up to top the list and is followed by Tokyo, Osaka and Stockholm.
To read the report in full, visit The Economist's website.
Photo: Coconuts Singapore / Alexander Hotz
The Economist's Intelligence Unit has once again published a ranking of the safest major cities in the world and Tokyo comes out tops, followed by Singapore.
The Safe Index 2015 looks at the performance of 50 cities based on a selection of factors including digital and health security, infrastructure and personal safety.
According to the report, as cities become ever more complicated ecosystems, a safe environment must be created for citizens across the entire landscape, targeting crime online as much as on the street.
And while Singapore is currently enjoying some of its lowest traditional crime levels of the decade, it's also had to battle with an increased amount of reported cyber-related offences, pushing it three points behind Japan in terms of digital security. The report notes that the wealthy city-state is however moving towards becoming a more technologically savvy "smart nation" in various ways, including introducing a cybercrime agency. Here's a summary of how Singapore performed in other aspects of "safety":
Health security: Dropped from second to 12th despite being a consistently high-income city cited often as a leader in healthcare. It ranks joint first for its quality of health services, but falls into the bottom half for the number of hospital beds and doctors per 1,000 people. For air quality, Singapore ranks 17th behind London and on par with Paris. Currently Zurich, New York and Brussels top the overall ranking for health security.
Infrastructure safety: Singapore has dropped from 2nd to 7th in this category, which analyses how cities maintain and upgrade their existing systems and structures, among other things. The report however notes that Singapore is planning to install 1,000 sensors across the city this year to monitor a variety of conditions including water levels, traffic congestion, crowds and air quality. Zurich, Melbourne and Sydney top this list.
Personal safety: This is where Singapore continues to excel — it's moved up to top the list and is followed by Tokyo, Osaka and Stockholm.
To read the report in full, visit The Economist's website.
Photo: Coconuts Singapore / Alexander Hotz