The United Arab Emirates’ capital Abu Dhabi was ranked as the safest city in the Middle East region, according to the Safe Cities Index 2021 published earlier this week.

Abu Dhabi scored “very high” in health security and infrastructure security, at 76.5 and 77.3 out of a score of 100, respectively.

The Safe Cities Index 2021, a report from The Economist Intelligence Unit, ranks 60 cities across 76 indicators covering digital, health, infrastructure, personal and environmental security, according to its website.

The UAE capital scored 66.9 out of 100 in overall security, 66.8 in digital security, and 67 in personal security, all deemed “high” scores by the index.

When it comes to the “COVID-19 pandemic and the understanding of health security,” Abu Dhabi ranked 12th worldwide with a score of 76.5/100, while Dubai ranked 13th with a score of 75.5.

In 2020, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were among the top 20 safest countries in the world during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to a comprehensive data analysis by Hong Kong-based Deep Knowledge Group.

According to this year’s Safe Cities Index results, Dubai scored “very high” in health security and infrastructure security, and “high” in digital security and personal security.

Both Abu Dhabi and Dubai were considered cities that have “a smart city plan” and explicitly focus on cybersecurity of the smart city infrastructure and network, the index said.