The 12 most unsafe cities in Europe
12. Paris — The city ranked 71st after a series of terrorist attacks. In November last year, suicide bombers and gunmen attacked multiple locations in France's capital, including cafés, restaurants, and a music venue, killing 130 people and injuring hundreds of others.
11. London — It may be a surprise to see London in the list, but Mercer ranked Britain's capital 72nd. Ellyn Karetnick, head of Mercer's International Mobility Practice in the UK, said, "In Europe and beyond terrorist attacks and incidences of civil unrest are closely monitored and analysed, and any impact on quality of living for expatriates is reflected in the rankings."
10. Bucharest, Romania — Violent and organised crime is quite low in Romania's capital, but the city ranked 79th because of widespread corruption and petty crime.
9. Zagreb, Croatia —Like Zagreb's other major Eastern European counterparts, corruption drags the city down — it ranked 79th.
T=7. Riga, Latvia — Apart from anti-immigration protests starting to dominate the streets, Riga is ranked 82nd on the index for its thriving organised crime and prostitution syndicates.
T=7. Rome — The city dropped to 82nd after Rome, and other Italian cities, were put on high alert for terrorist attacks similar to the Paris attacks in November.
6. Madrid — The city ranked 84th in Mercer's list for its social unrest resulting from countrywide austerity measures that led to massive unemployment levels, especially among its youth population.
5. Budapest, Hungary — The city dropped to 93rd in the index after a massive increase in social unrest in the city since the refugee crisis. Chaos at train stations and protests in the streets have erupted several times as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has tried to curb the flow of migrants in and through the country.
4. Sofia, Bulgaria — A high level of social unrest has pushed the city into 118th. People in Bulgaria, which is the European Union's poorest member, continually protest against the government over benefit and pension cuts as well as against corruption.
3. Athens, Greece — After extensive and prolonged austerity measures, poverty and crime has increased giving Athens a ranking of 124. Furthermore, "the recent political and economic turmoil in Greece, which resulted in violent demonstrations in Athens and other cities in the country, has undermined its safety ranking," says Mercer. The influx of hundreds of thousands of migrants is also exacerbating the city's safety position.
2. Belgrade, Serbia — Violent crimes are low in the city, but Belgrade sinks to 131st in the index for its wide-scale corruption and bribery issues as well as from theft and vandalism.
1. Kiev, Ukraine — The country's capital ranks 189th because of civil unrest and its pugilistic relationship with Russia. Though the UK foreign office says Kiev is "calm" compared with the Russian-annexed region of Crimea, Kiev is rife with theft, vandalism, and violent protests that have killed or injured hundreds of people.
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