DAVAO City ranks second among the Safest Cities in the Philippines for 2025, according to the World Travel Index (WTI).
Davao City earned a safety score of 80.73, placing just behind Dumaguete City, which topped the list with 81.36. Globally, Davao ranked 1,132nd out of 3,028 cities in terms of perceived safety.
Davao City has a score of 89.12 for its safety during the day, 83.12 for safety during night, 77.13 for being theft-free, 72.57 for being drug-free, and 80.89 for being violence-free.
However, WTI clarified that the safety index does not account for ongoing unrest or military conflicts. They advised tourists to follow safety guidelines issued by the government, local authorities, and recommendations related to their travel or occupation.
Bulacan placed third with 76.42, followed by Balanga in Bataan with 76.15, and Lucena in Quezon with 75.24.
Naga City in Camarines Sur placed sixth with 75.02, then Baguio City with 73.99, Puerto Princesa with 71.34, Legazpi City with 71.34, and in tenth is Makati City with 70.41.
“This ranking shows which cities offer the best conditions for safety during travel. The better the ranking and the higher the value, the more safety this city can offer. The worse the ranking and the lower the value, the less safety this city can offer,” WTI said.
WTI stated that they rank the safety of cities based on five different sub-categories in the Numbeo Crime Index, on the day and night, theft-free, drug-free, and violence-free assessment by residents and visitors.
The WTI added that its content on safety categories, such as travel type, food, tap water, scams, and transport, is based on “AI-assisted aggregated analysis of 50 million travel websites” as well as user reports from Reddit or Quora.
The World Travel Index is a travel-focused platform that ranks cities, islands, and countries in various categories, such as safety, infrastructure, attractions, and cost.
To recall, Davao City was also ranked third among the safest cities in Southeast Asia in 2024, following Chiang Mai, Thailand, and Singapore, according to the crowdsourced platform Numbeo.
Numbeo gathers user-contributed data that evaluates cities based on crime rates, police efficiency, and public perception of safety. RGP
