Safest cities in the world

Overview

Zurich tops our ranking of safest cities in the world at 10.0/10, just ahead of Reykjavik and Singapore. Choosing where to live is easier with numbers in front of you than with a gut feeling. Safest cities in the world is exactly that: a data-driven answer, not a listicle opinion. Ranked purely on our safety score — low crime, high perceived security. Every one of our 303 cities is included here, sorted purely by safest — no filtering, no lifestyle assumptions, just a single-criterion sort so you can see the full spectrum from best to worst. Average safety across this list sits at 6.8/10 and average climate at 6.3/10 — both well above a random sample of world cities, which says as much about the filtering as it does about any individual entry. Zurich posts the strongest individual safety score in this group at 10/10, a detail the blended ranking above can obscure if safety happens to matter more to you than to the average reader. Because this list ignores every factor except safest, it's most useful as a filter to apply before you weigh in your own priorities — pair it with the recommender if cost or climate also matter to you. The full ranking, full scorecards and links to each city's dedicated page are below.

Full ranking

Curious how the top two stack up criterion by criterion? Compare Zurich vs Reykjavik directly →

Methodology

This is a pure single-criterion ranking: every other factor is set to zero weight, so a city's position here reflects nothing except its score on safest. Want different priorities? Set your own weights in the recommender.

Understanding the criteria

Safest alone decides the order here. A city can score poorly on every other criterion — cost, transport, healthcare — and still top this specific list if it's strong on safest, so treat it as one input rather than a complete picture.

Tips for using this ranking

• →Cross-reference with the overall livability ranking before deciding — a city that's #1 here on a single criterion can still be a poor all-round pick.
• →If two or three cities are within half a point of each other, the difference is small enough that other factors (visa rules, flight connections, a language you speak) should probably decide.

Who this ranking is for

This ranking is most useful for Budget-conscious movers — movers for whom affordability outweighs every other factor, Safety-first movers — people relocating somewhere unfamiliar who weigh personal safety above all and Balanced movers — people without a single dominant priority, weighing all criteria evenly. If none of those match your situation, the recommender tool lets you set your own weights instead of relying on any preset list.

Strengths & limitations of this ranking

Frequently asked questions

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