Tokyo, the world's most populated city, is also the safest according to a 2015 Safe Cities Index by The Economist.

The index, which looks at digital security, health security, infrastructure safety and personal safety, ranks the Japanese capital ahead of Singapore second and Osaka third. European capitals Stockholm and Amsterdam complete the world's top five safest cities.

Australia's most populous city, Sydney, just missed out the top five (by less than a point) coming in at number six in the Index. The habour city was followed by Zurich in seventh place and Toronto in eighth. The world's friendliest city and arguable Australia's "hippest" city, Melbourne, was named the ninth safest city in the world.

Only one USA city made the top 10 in the Index; the city that never sleeps – New York – rounded off the top 10.

On the other end of the scale, Jakarta, with an urban population of over 10 million ranked at the bottom of the list of 50 cities in the Index. Cities which also tipped the other end of the scale from 45th to 49th spots, respectively, are: Mexico City, Riyadh, Johannesburg, Ho Chi Minh City and Tehran.

The Index noted that people living in Mexico City felt as safe as residents living in Zurich. By comparison, it noted in US cities people tend to be more fearful even though its cities ranked at the upper end of the Index.

Tokyo scored the highest in the digital security category, but that category was dominated by US cities: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago making the category's top ten. By contrast European cities performed poorly, with London at 16, being the highest-ranking European city in the digital security, and Rome is the lowest, at 35.

Tokyo, with a population of 38 million people according to the UN, proves that megacities can be safe cities. The five other megacities that made the top half of the Index include: Osaka, New York, Los Angeles, Paris and London.

Apart from Buenos Aires, the remaining 14 megacities ranked in the lower half of the index are all in countries with emerging economies. These include Brazil, Russia, India, China, Mexico, Indonesia and Turkey.

However, being among the safest cities in the world doesn't necessarily equate to being the best city in which to live. Tokyo was ranked at 16 when it comes to the question of the best place to live. That title goes to hockey-loving nation, Canada, with Toronto named the best place to live, followed by Montreal.

European cities Stockholm and Amsterdam, the only two cities to make the top five in the overall Index, came in at three and four, with San Francisco rounding up the top five. Melbourne came in at six, with Sydney at nine after Zurich and Washington DC. Despite its gritty reputation, Chicago made the top 10 best places to live (at number 10).

TOP 20 CITIES: SAFE CITIES INDEX 2015

1. Tokyo

2. Singapore

3. Osaka

4. Stockholm

5. Amsterdam

6. Sydney

7. Zurich

8. Toronto

9. Melbourne

10. New York

11. Hong Kong

12. San Francisco

13. Taipei

14. Montreal

15. Barcelona

16. Chicago

17. Los Angeles

18. London

19. Washington DC

20. Frankfurt

Safe Cities Index 2015 is an Economist Intelligence Unit report. To read the full report and the complete Index ranking, click here.

Traveller