Quebec appears third in the ranking of the world’s most secure cities in 2019 by CEO Magazine. Interesting fact: it is the only city in North America in the top 30 of this ranking. What makes it stand out?
CEO Magazine, a business magazine, has ranked 334 cities worldwide on the basis of their crime rate. Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) comes out first. It is followed by Doha (Qatar), Quebec (Canada), Taipei (Taiwan), Munich (Germany), Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Zurich (Switzerland), Berne (Switzerland), Eskisehir (Turkey) and Hong Kong.
The least secure cities are, in descending order, Caracas (Venezuela), Pietermaritzburg (South Africa), Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea), Pretoria (South Africa) and San Pedro Sula (Honduras).
According to the annual report of the Quebec City Police Service, only two first-degree murders were recorded in the capital of Belle-Province in 2018. The most common Criminal Code offenses are theft. The police services recorded 5065 thefts in 2018. Compared to 2017, a decrease in offenses is found in most categories. This is the case, for example, with breaking in, sexual assault, possession of child pornography and vehicular driving offenses.
Safe, but not just that!
Despite its absence from major international reports such as the Mercer survey on quality of life and the Safe Cities Index of The Economist, which focus on Montreal or Toronto, Quebec still does very well for itself. The capital of Belle-Province is an excellent expatriation choice because of the many professional opportunities it offers. In July 2019, the unemployment rate was only of 2.3%. At first glance, we should be pleased with such a low unemployment rate, but it is a hassle for enterprises struggling to find the right people in the region. According to an article in Le Devoir, a daily newspaper in Quebec, in June 2019, the sectors most affected by lack of qualified labor were tourism, health and new technologies.
In terms of tourism, it regularly appears as one of the best destinations in North America. As recently as July 2019, it was voted best destination in Canada by readers of the Travel & Leisure magazine.
Ottawa is the closest city to Quebec City in the CEO Magazine rankings, ranking 37th. The cities of Victoria (74th), Montreal (79th), Calgary (89th), Vancouver (116th) and Toronto (123rd) are also ranked.
A safe city in a safe country
It is worth noting that Canada is ranked sixth in the Global Peace Index by the Institute for the Economy and Peace. This index ranks 163 countries in the world according to 23 security-related criteria including terrorist threats, the import/export of weapons and the crime rate. Switzerland also ranks pretty well as it occupies the 11th place.
In contrast, the United Arab Emirates are only in 53rd position which is eight places lower than 2018. Qatar, in 31st place, is doing a little better, especially because of its efforts to reduce political oppression. Taiwan (36th) is also considered a safe country, unlike China (110th) which is in the category of moderately safe countries.
Turkey (152) is among the least secure countries. It owes this score mainly to the terrorist risk. As it is located in the northwest of the country, the city of Eskisehir is less exposed. Indeed, the most dangerous areas of Turkey are located in the southeast, near the border with Syria.
Abu Dhabi: always a destination of choice
Abu Dhabi is ranked first in CEO Magazine's Safer Cities report, but ranks only 73rd in Mercer's safest cities. How does one explain this difference between the two surveys? It should be noted that the CEO Magazine only takes into account the crime rate, while the Mercer survey is based on several criteria, including internal stability, limits to personal freedom and terrorist risk.
Abu Dhabi, however, remains a city where life is good. The SafeAround site has placed it 22nd in its ranking of the safest and most unsafe cities in the world. According to security firm GardaWorld, the UAE's intolerance of crime, dissent and terrorism limits the risks. The most feared security concerns are dehydration and road accidents, according to GardaWorld.
