Manila has been listed as one of the least safe cities to live in, a 2017 global index showed.

A newcomer to the list, the Philippine capital got a score of 55.86 and ranked 55th out of 60 countries assessed in the Safe Cities Index 2017.

The index measured the safety of cities as economic and social hubs based on factors covering digital, health, infrastructure, and physical security.

Manila was included in the bottom 5 of the lists on digital and infrastructure security. The report attributed the city's poor performance as mostly due to its low-income status.

"These cities often lack technology skills and competing challenges such as tackling infectious diseases and poverty can push cybersecurity lower on the list of priorities," the report said.

The report also noted that climate change also poses a threat to infrastructure development with Manila recording the highest number of deaths due to natural disasters.

"Climate change is presenting greater threats to urban infrastructure as the severity and frequency of hurricanes, floods,
high winds and other extreme weather events increases..." the report said.

The list was topped by Asian cities Tokyo and Singapore followed by Chicago, Amsterdam, and Hong Kong.

Also a newcomer, the Pakistani city of Karachi was at the bottom of the list with only a score of 38.77.

Southeast Asian countries comprised the majority of the bottom of the list, with Myanmar's Yangon just above Karachi.

Trailing behind Manila is Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City and Indonesia's massive capital Jakarta.

The Philippine capital, however, was runner-up to Greece's Athens which had the least number of terrorist attacks.

A separate study has listed Manila as among the most stressful cities in the world with its hellish traffic conditions, dense public spaces, and pollution.

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