Unsafe city

Whether in terms of health security or personal safety related to peace and order, Manila ranks low among several cities around the world. This is according to the 2021 Safe Cities Index released by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The EIU ranked Manila 51st out of 60 upper and middle-income cities.

The index refers to mega cities including the city-state of Singapore, which ranked third overall, behind only Denmark’s capital Copenhagen and Toronto in Canada. Among the five original members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Manila ranked last, behind Singapore, Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur (32nd), Thai capital Bangkok (43rd), Vietnam’s largest city Ho Chi Minh (45th) and Indonesian capital Jakarta (46th).

The index, which refers to mega or Metro Manila, measures safety based on 76 indicators under five pillars: digital, health, infrastructure, personal and environmental security. Manila received the lowest score of 46.4 out of 100, tying for 55th place with Bangkok, in a priority area of the Duterte administration – personal security. This pillar measures levels of crime and terrorism and the government’s responses.


Manila also ranked low, placing 54th with a score of 49.9, in terms of health security. Across all indicators, the metropolis garnered scores that were below the global average, including the newest pillar on environmental security, which includes government efforts to promote sustainability and confront climate change.

The government may dispute the ranking on personal safety, considering the emphasis of the Duterte administration on the fight against criminality. But the brutal anti-crime campaign particularly against the drug menace has turned the country into the homicide capital of the region. Residents and people who work in Metro Manila will likely not quibble with the rankings. The index should be seen as yet another challenge to exert more effort to make the country’s capital region a safer and more livable metropolis.