Budapest is safer and more livable than London

As far as security is concerned, Budapest has triumphed over London, reveals the latest research of Századvég. As a result of international and European actions – including the Hungarian governance change in 2010 and London’s leadership adjustment in 2016 – the two European capitals have developed differently in the last few years, which has become noticeable by now not only for citizens but even for tourists and foreigners as well.

As Hungarian news portal Origo reports, in the brief analysis, the two capitals were compared according to several criteria. At the beginning of the study, the most important pieces of information were presented:

Budapest

• The 10th most populous city in the European Union;
• In 2017, its population exceeded 1.7 million – including the suburbs with 2.5 million people;
• It has an area of ​​about 525 km², by which it is the largest settlement of the country;
• The Hungarian capital is a popular tourist destination – in 2012, 4.8 million tourists visited Budapest; according to Euromonitor International, it is the 27th most visited city in the world and the 7th most popular European settlement;
• Budapest is a Central European financial centre and the world’s 100th largest city in generating GDP;
• According to the American Forbes magazine, Budapest is the 7th “most idyllic city in Europe.”

London

• According to the 2009 census, its population was 9,675,567, by which it has become the most populous settlement in the European Union;
• The agglomeration is estimated to be between 12 and 14 million people; a wide variety of ethnic groups, cultures, and religions can be found in the city – more than 12% practice the religion of Islam, and 300 different languages ​​are spoken in London;
• One of the world’s leading global cities;
• In 2014, it was described as the world’s most influential cosmopolis by Forbes magazine.

Security

Századvég emphasised that Budapest has realised a remarkable development in recent years, thanks to the effective cooperation between the city administration and the government, along with the improvement of tourism indicators.

According to the research centre, this can be explained by the fact that Budapest has become one of the safest cities in Europe.

The Hungarian capital has been marching forward on the list of the safest cities, unlike the British metropolis that is steadily dropping behind in the rankings. In London, since Sadiq Khan’s leadership (2016), the number of stabbings has increased by 52%, robberies incremented by 59%, while the number of murders grew by 26% in the British capital. In contrast, homicides in Budapest decreased by 35.5% – from 45% to 16% – during the same period.

This phenomenon can even be proven by the fact that according to the Budapest Police Headquarters’ (BRFK) latest annual account, in 2018, the number of registered crimes decreased by almost 10% compared to the previous year.

Foreign offenders

The number of foreign offenders in the Hungarian capital also show positive results. Foreign criminal activity in Hungary cannot be considered significant, either – it has not been affected by the 2015 migration crisis. According to Századvég, this is closely related to the government’s consistent immigration policy and the partnership of István Tarlós.

On the other hand, London experiences a significant increase in the number of crimes which seems inseparable from the phenomenon of mass immigration (according to the latest 2011 census, only 44.9% of London’s population is of British nationality), and show over-representation in the cases of perpetrators as well.

Summary: Peace = Security

The research centre emphasised that, due to recent years’ terrorist attacks, the role of security has been prioritised from both citizens’ and tourists’ perspectives. Improvements and tourism development yielded positive results:

according to The Economist, Budapest is the world’s 54th most livable city, by which it occupies the top of the list within the Central European region.

As Századvég describes, in the last few years, Budapest has realised remarkable development and has turned into one of the most popular tourist destinations.

“Despite the fact that London continues to show significant results in tourism, the British capital is becoming less livable for locals, while Budapest has become one of the safest cities in Europe over the past decade, providing a promising future for the next generations in the dynamically developing Hungarian capital.”

Source: origo.hu