Toronto is the safest city in North America and ranks in the top five among 60 other major cities globally, according to an index of city rankings compiled by The Economist.
The index report is based on comparative data for urban security, which includes digital security, health security, infrastructure security and personal security.
No other Canadian city made the list this year. Montreal, which was designated 14th safest city in 2015, did not make the list in 2017.
READ MORE: Toronto ranked best place to live in the world by The Economist
Tokyo, Singapore and Osaka take the top three spots respectively, as seven of the top 10 are cities in Asia.
Despite recent terrorist attacks, Europe has eight cities in the top 20, with two (Amsterdam and Stockholm) in the top 10.
Only three American cities cracked the top 20 with San Francisco at 15, Los Angeles at 18 and Chicago at 19.
The low U.S. rankings are being blamed on the decaying state of infrastructure in the country.
Cities ranked in the bottom five included Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Dhaka, Yangon and Karachi.
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Toronto ranks high in digital security due to its ability to curb cyber threats. Personal security is also a bright spot for Canada’s largest city as it rates fourth lowest in the rate of vehicular accidents per one million inhabitants.
The report further states that the world’s urban population has grown by an estimated 150 million people, raising the total number of people living in cities to above four billion.
“More than 90 per cent of the increase in urbanisation over this period occurred in the developing world, where massive migration from rural areas has continued to accelerate,” the report said.
“In the developed world, however, the size of most cities remained roughly the same, with some cities even beginning to shrink in those countries with aging and declining populations.”
The population boom is a growing concern as the potential for catastrophic breakdowns will only increase, whether from the meltdown of a nuclear plant, a natural disaster or attacks from criminal networks or terrorist groups, the Economist said.
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