Puerto Vallarta (PVDN) – According to the latest National Survey of Urban Public Security (ENSU), the perception of security by inhabitants of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, significantly improved in the last quarter of 2022, allowing the city to return to the Top-Ten of the safest cities in the country. In the previous survey, Puerto Vallarta had fallen out of the group, ranking 12th.
The survey, carried out by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) in the first half of March 2023, indicates that 26.5% of the population aged 18 and over, residing in Puerto Vallarta, considered their city unsafe to live in, representing a significant decrease compared to the previous surveys. In March 2020, 31.8% of respondents felt the same way, and the number had increased to 39.4% in June 2021, when the city ranked 13th in the list of safest cities in Mexico.
The report published by INEGI shows that in March 2023, 62.1% of the population aged 18 and over, residing in 75 cities of interest, considered it unsafe to live in their city. This represents a statistically significant change compared to the percentages registered in December 2022 and March 2022 (64.2% and 66.2%, respectively).
Fifteen cities and districts had statistically significant changes compared to December 2022, with 11 presenting reductions and four increases. In March 2023, 68.1% of women and 54.8% of men considered it unsafe to live in their city.
The report also lists the cities with the highest and lowest perception of insecurity. The cities with the highest percentage of the population aged 18 and over who considered it unsafe to live in their city were: Fresnillo (96.0%), Zacatecas (94.3%), Naucalpan de Juárez (88.0%), Ciudad Obregón (86.4%), Uruapan (86.2%), and Colima (85.7%). In contrast, the cities where the perception of insecurity was lower were: San Pedro Garza García (18.3%), Benito Juárez (19.4%), Piedras Negras (19.9%), Los Cabos (22.7%), Saltillo (23.9%), Tampico (24.1%), Merida (24.2%), Los Mochis (24.9%), Puerto Vallarta (26.5%), and Cuajimalpa (27.7%).
Regarding the perception of insecurity in specific physical spaces, the survey found that 72.9% of the population stated they felt insecure at ATMs located on public roads; 65.2%, in public transport; 55.9%, in the bank and 54.4%, in the streets that they usually use.
Overall, the ENSU report shows a mixed picture of the perception of insecurity in Mexico, with some cities showing improvements, while others continue to have high levels of insecurity. In this context, the return of Puerto Vallarta to the Top-Ten of the safest cities in the country is good news for its inhabitants and for the tourism industry, which is a significant source of income for the city.
