Sydney, Melbourne rank highly on safest cities in the world index
Two Australian cities have been named in the top ten safest in the world, according to a study from The Economist.
The Safe Cities Index places Sydney in fifth place on the list, and Melbourne is ranked at number 10.
The index judges crime, overall health, digital and infrastructure security, hospital quality and the risk of terrorism, natural disasters and road traffic deaths, among other things.
Sydney is the fifth safest city in the world, the Economist has said. AAP
"In any city where you can often see a woman walking alone at night, you can bet that is a safe city," study contributor Alioune Badiane, the president of the Urban Think Tank Africa, said in the report.
The Economist ranked 60 cities around the world for its index, but Sydney and Melbourne were the only Australian locations on the list.
Tokyo is ranked the safest city in the world, according to the Economist. AAP
Topping the index is Tokyo, which scored highly across the board.
It was followed by Singapore, Osaka, Amsterdam and then Sydney.
Toronto, Washington DC, Copenhagen, Seoul and Melbourne were also in the top 10.
Lagos in Nigeria is ranked the least safe city in the world. It is also one of the fastest growing. AAP
Ranked the lowest was Lagos in Nigeria.
One of the fastest growing cities in the world, Lagos has an estimated 21 million people, but is beset with health and crime problems.
Other low ranked cities include Caracas in Venezuela, Yangon in Myanmar and Karachi in Pakistan.
Caracas in Venezuela is one of the least safe cities in the world. AAP
The index ranks cities according to personal security, infrastructure security, health security and digital security.
Sydney and Melbourne share the same rankings in the latter three categories.
But Sydney's edge on the issue of personal security is enough to give the Harbour City a five-spot edge in the rankings.
Read more: The most dangerous cities on Earth
Melbourne is the tenth safest city in the world, the Economist has said. AAP
The full list:
1. Tokyo
2. Singapore
3. Osaka
4. Amsterdam
5. Sydney
6. Toronto
7. Washington
8. Copenhagen
9. Seoul
10. Melbourne
11. Chicago
12. Stockholm
13. San Francisco
14. London
15. New York
16. Frankfurt
17. Los Angeles
18. Wellington
19. Zurich
20. Hong Kong
21. Dallas
22. Taipei
23. Paris
24. Brussels
25. Madrid
26. Barcelona
27. Abu Dhabi
28. Dubai
29. Milan
30. Rome
31. Beijing
32. Shanghai
33. Santiago
34. Buenos Aires
35. Kuala Lumpur
36. Istanbul
37. Moscow
38. Kuwait City
39. Riyadh
40. Mexico City
41. Rio de Janeiro
42. Sao Paulo
43. Manila
44. Johannesburg
45. Lima
46. Mumbai
47. Bangkok
48. Ho Chi Minh City
49. Baku
50. Quito
51. Bogota
52. New Delhi
53. Jakarta
54. Casablanca
55. Cairo
56. Dhaka
57. Karachi
58. Yangon
59. Caracas
60. Lagos
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