Candice Bailey and Foreign Correspondents

CAPE TOWN may be the country's murder capital, but you're still more likely to fall victim to armed robbery in Joburg than be murdered in the Cape.

The South Africa Survey, released by the SA Institute of Race Relations, showed that the City of Gold was still SA's most dangerous city, with more aggravated robberies occurring in the city than anywhere else in the country.

According to the statistics, there were 17 092 aggravated robberies in 2010-11.

The survey covers the 20 most serious crimes in the country, but |also looks at aspects of the criminal |justice cluster such as prison populations, private security and police personnel.

According to the study, between 1994 and 2011 the overall rate of serious crime came down by 20 percent.

The statistics show that for every 15 armed robberies that take place in Joburg, one person is murdered.

In Cape Town, there are six armed robberies for every murder, compared to Durban and Nelson Mandela Bay, where the aggravated robbery-murder ratio is eight to one. The national average is six to one.

The survey comes just days after the release of a Mexican survey |on the top 50 most dangerous cities in the world, which listed Cape Town as more dangerous than Joburg, Durban and Nelson Mandela Bay.

Several South American cities made the list.

The institute's researcher, Kerwin Lebone, said they did not agree with the Mexican study.

"Just because Cape Town has the most murders does not necessarily make it a more violent city," said Lebone.

He said aggravated robbery had nine categories including carjacking, residential and business robberies and cash-in-transit heists.

"That is a wide range of violent activity. In Joburg, those crimes are occurring on a much wider and greater scale."

The point of the survey, said Lebone, was to collate all the statistics from sectors of the criminal justice cluster so that they could be compared and analysed.

It would also point out concerns and successes.

It showed that since 1994, there had been a 228 percent spike in drug-related crimes and a 20 percent spike in aggravated robbery.

Overcrowding in prisons was shown to be a problem.

Despite the available prison accommodation being 118 154 beds, the February 2011 prison population sat at 162 162.

Another crime challenge the survey highlighted was rhino poaching.

In 2007, there were 13 incidents of rhino poaching. In 2010, there were 333. But the survey also highlighted the good, he said.

Statistics showed that the country's population-to-police ratio is 318 citizens to every one officer compared to Australia, which has a ratio of 235 citizens to a police officer, and the UK, which has a ratio of 268 an officer.

"We have adhered very strictly to the UN recommendation of 400:1, which is commendable," Lebone said.

"We may have one of the highest crime problems in the world, but there are improvements."

Lebone said the survey showed that all sections of society were vulnerable to crime and that both victims and perpetrators are found in every corner of the country, although some areas showed a higher propensity.

Which are the most dangerous cities in the world? Where is violence so rife that you would take your life in your hands by merely visiting there?

A recent study by a Mexican NGO listed five Mexican cities as the most violent in the world, based on murder rates, and listed Cape Town at 34 as the most dangerous SA city, followed by Durban in 49th place and Joburg at number 51.

Various studies, published online for example by mostdangerouscities.org and UrbanTitan.com, come up with different listings for the most dangerous places on Earth, but seeking a definitive list is a fruitless task. Some areas of Cape Town, for example, are indeed dangerous, while many more are not.

Any visitor to a strange city venturing into the badlands that exist in most cities is putting themselves in danger. For example, a stroll through the red light district of the Swiss capital of Geneva is likely to be a lot more forbidding than a walk in many Joburg suburbs, a city which has at times been unfairly labelled as a "murder capital". And, as with other surveys, the methodology of the Mexican study has been questioned. How do you rate Cape Town as one of the world's most dangerous cities when no recent murder statistics are available? And just how reliable are the crime stats from the cities it is being compared to?

But two threads do run through the various lists of the most dangerous - unsurprisingly cities in regions hit by wars or great political instability, and drugs.

Drugs spawn violence, from warring gangs to addicts desperate for a fix, to the thievery and violence that come with the drugs trade in general. Among the cities regularly featured on various "most dangerous" lists are:

San Pedro Sula, Honduras

The industrial centre of Honduras is not in a civil war zone like Baghdad and Mogadishu, but like Ciudad Juárez it is ravaged by drug wars.

San Pedro Sula takes pride of place in a study released by the Citizen's Council for Public Security and Justice, the Mexican research group, as the most violent city in the world. The recent withdrawal of America's Peace Corps volunteers from Honduras is one more sign that the Central American country has deteriorated to crisis levels not seen since the civil wars of the 1980s.

Ciudad Juárez, Mexico

This city on the border with the US features at the top in the rankings of several "most dangerous" lists.

It is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world despite being called the most violent zone on Earth outside of declared war zones. It has been plagued by corruption and the assassination of many police officers amid an onslaught by drug cartels.

The violence has forced the residents of Ciudad Juárez to change their daily routine; many now stay home in the evening, and the fear of kidnapping or random violence has curtailed public life.

Mogadishu, Somalia

THIS is a perennial war zone immortalised in the Hollywood Black Hawk Down, the 1993 battle in which US troops fought Somali war lord forces.

Today AU troops support a transitional government and the bloodshed continues.

If this city was not safe for US Delta forces, who is it safe for?

Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab |militants withdrew from most of |their bases in Mogadishu last August |after sustained pressure from Somali |and AU troops, but violence still grips many parts of the country and the capital.

Detroit, US

The Motor City has been found by |Forbes magazine to be the most dangerous in the US.

Detroit consistently ranks as one of America's most crime-ridden cities, along with contenders including Memphis.

A large drop in population and employment rates due to urbanisation and the struggles of car makers is reported to be a big factor, leaving the city short of funds to devote to basic services such as education and public safety.

Baghdad, Iraq

ALThough violence in Iraq is down markedly from its peak during 2006 and 2007, attacks are still common, including in the capital, and more than 200 people, mostly Shia pilgrims, have been killed since the withdrawal of American troops last month.

The troop pull-out coincided |with a political crisis in Iraq, |pitting the Shia-led government |against the main Sunni-backed |bloc which accuses Prime Minister |Nuri al-Maliki of centralising |power.