
The Numbeo Safety Index is an estimate based on the psychological perception of city residents. That is, index scores reflect the overall crime level in each city based on how safe citizens feel.
Highlighted below are the ten safest national capitals with the corresponding scores for perceived safety from crime.
Top 10 Safest Capital Cities Ranked
The following country capitals are among the safest cities on the planet, places where people believe they are insulated from criminal activities. In addition to their relative placement versus other capitals, shown within brackets is the latest safety score as assessed using Numbeo Saftey Index scores (updated mid-year 2017).
- Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: 86.46 (Safety Index score)
- Doha, Qatar: 84.13
- Singapore: 83.1
- Taipei, Taiwan: 82.62
- Bern, Switzerland: 81.53
- Tokyo, Japan: 80.62
- Hong Kong: 79.93
- Tbilisi, Georgia: 79.63
- Vienna, Austria: 78.91
- Copenhagen, Denmark: 78.73
Honorable mention goes to Estonia’s capital city Tallinn with a safety score of 78.63, followed by Australia’s capital city Canberra at 77.24 points.
In North America, the most psychologically secure capital city is Ottawa, Canada at 76.93. The Canadian capital’s safety index score is far ahead of Washington DC in the United States with 42 points and crime-riddled Mexico City, Mexico rated at just 34.65.
Searchable World’s Safest Capital Cities List
To search the 102 country capitals and their respective Numbeo Saftey Index score, peruse the list below. Note that you may sort columns in ascending or descending order by clicking on a column header. Alternatively, you may enter the city name in the Search box shown.
Rank | Capital City | Safety Index Score |
---|---|---|
1 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | 86.46 |
2 | Doha, Qatar | 84.13 |
3 | Singapore | 83.1 |
4 | Taipei, Taiwan | 82.62 |
5 | Bern, Switzerland | 81.53 |
6 | Tokyo, Japan | 80.62 |
7 | Hong Kong | 79.93 |
8 | Tbilisi, Georgia | 79.63 |
9 | Vienna, Austria | 78.91 |
10 | Copenhagen, Denmark | 78.73 |
11 | Tallinn, Estonia | 78.63 |
12 | Canberra, Australia | 77.24 |
13 | Ottawa, Canada | 76.93 |
14 | Reykjavik, Iceland | 76.85 |
15 | Minsk, Belarus | 76.37 |
16 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 75.85 |
17 | Helsinki, Finland | 75.36 |
18 | Ljubljana, Slovenia | 75.29 |
19 | Luxembourg, Luxembourg | 73.84 |
20 | Warsaw, Poland | 73.7 |
21 | Baku, Azerbaijan | 73.31 |
22 | Manama, Bahrain | 73.06 |
23 | Jerusalem, Israel | 72.55 |
24 | Zagreb, Croatia | 72.36 |
25 | Bucharest, Romania | 71.82 |
26 | Seoul, South Korea | 71.66 |
27 | Prague, Czech Republic | 71.12 |
28 | Muscat, Oman | 70.39 |
29 | Yerevan, Armenia | 69.85 |
30 | Madrid, Spain | 69.33 |
31 | Wellington, New Zealand | 68.92 |
32 | Bratislava, Slovakia | 68.84 |
33 | Nicosia, Cyprus | 68 |
34 | Kuwait City, Kuwait | 67.53 |
35 | Colombo, Sri Lanka | 67.48 |
36 | Lisbon, Portugal | 67.41 |
37 | Vilnius, Lithuania | 65.96 |
38 | Kathmandu, Nepal | 65.64 |
39 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 63.89 |
40 | Tunis, Tunisia | 62.94 |
41 | Belgrade, Serbia | 61.7 |
42 | Beijing, China | 61.79 |
43 | Riga, Latvia | 61.58 |
44 | Budapest, Hungary | 61.11 |
45 | Islamabad, Pakistan | 60.87 |
46 | Berlin, Germany | 57.88 |
47 | Tirana, Albania | 57.51 |
48 | Ankara, Turkey | 56.38 |
49 | Amman, Jordan | 56.18 |
50 | Porto, Portugal | 55.99 |
51 | Chisinau, Moldova | 55.54 |
52 | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | 55.36 |
53 | Sofia, Bulgaria | 54.91 |
54 | Skopje, Macedonia | 54.12 |
55 | Moscow, Russia | 54.79 |
56 | Sarajevo, Bosnia And Herzegovina | 53.57 |
57 | Oslo, Norway | 53.52 |
58 | London, United Kingdom | 52.93 |
59 | Stockholm, Sweden | 51.49 |
60 | Bangkok, Thailand | 51.61 |
61 | Panama City, Panama | 51.17 |
62 | Kiev, Ukraine | 50.79 |
63 | Beirut, Lebanon | 50.61 |
64 | Santiago, Chile | 50.49 |
65 | Hanoi, Vietnam | 50.14 |
66 | Athens, Greece | 50.01 |
67 | Algiers, Algeria | 48.28 |
68 | Dublin, Ireland | 48.02 |
69 | Harare, Zimbabwe | 48.02 |
70 | Brussels, Belgium | 47.04 |
71 | Jakarta, Indonesia | 46.76 |
72 | Paris, France | 46.44 |
73 | Phnom Penh, Cambodia | 45.68 |
74 | Quito, Ecuador | 44.92 |
75 | Tehran, Iran | 45.53 |
76 | Rome, Italy | 44.14 |
77 | Montevideo, Uruguay | 44.04 |
78 | Cairo, Egypt | 42.53 |
79 | Baghdad, Iraq | 42 |
80 | Washington, DC, United States | 41.94 |
81 | Tripoli, Libya | 40.31 |
82 | Delhi, India | 38.67 |
83 | Manila, Philippines | 39.69 |
84 | Guatemala City, Guatemala | 37.35 |
85 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | 36.97 |
86 | Nairobi, Kenya | 35.95 |
87 | Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia | 35.44 |
88 | Brasilia, Brazil | 34.65 |
89 | Mexico City, Mexico | 34.45 |
90 | Male, Maldives | 34.2 |
91 | Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania | 33.22 |
92 | Damascus, Syria | 32.96 |
93 | Kingston, Jamaica | 31.58 |
94 | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | 31.44 |
95 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 31.31 |
96 | Dhaka, Bangladesh | 30.37 |
97 | Lima, Peru | 28.55 |
98 | Windhoek, Namibia | 26.54 |
99 | San Salvador, El Salvador | 26.54 |
100 | Port Of Spain, Trinidad/Tobago | 23.44 |
101 | Caracas, Venezuela | 17.64 |
102 | Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | 16.32 |
Interestingly, countries home to some of the safest capitals also have among the world’s lowest annual death rates per 1,000 residents. For instance, Qatar has an estimated average 1.5 annual deaths per 1,000 residents–the lowest of any nation. In second place is the United Arab Emirates at 2.0 annual deaths per 1,000 residents.
These lower national mortality rates support the superior Safety Index scores for Qatar’s capital city Doha and Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates.
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, Country Comparison: Death Rate. Accessed on August 10, 2017
Numbeo, Crime Index 2017. Accessed on August 10, 2017
PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP (pwc), Cities of Opportunity 7. Accessed on August 10, 2017