Chicago has been named one of the safest cities in the world.
While this may come as a surprise given Chicago’s murder statistics and the fact that U.S. President Donald Trump not long ago called the city a “war zone,” it sits as 19th-safest on the 2017 Safe Cities Index, the New York Post reports.
London-based research firm The Economist Intelligence Unit ranks 60 global cities using four factors, including digital, health, personal and infrastructure security.
Chicago may be home to escalating gun violence, but its efforts in the realm of digital security boosted its ranking. The report placed particular emphasis on a cybersecurity initiative that was announced earlier this year and will provide training through local colleges and the Department of Defense, the Post reports.
The city was notably absent from the personal security ranking, however, which factored in both terrorism and urban violence.
The report noted that in 2015, there were roughly 440,000 homicide-related deaths globally while the number of terrorism-related deaths totaled approximately 30,000 in the same year, meaning urban violence still takes a vastly greater toll on human life than terrorism.
Most of the top 10 under the personal security category were in Asia, including Singapore, Osaka, Tokyo, Taipei and Hong Kong.
The only two other U.S. cities to make the overall list were San Francisco, which ranked 15th, and Los Angeles, which ranked 18th.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)