Durban - Four South African cities have been named among the world’s most dangerous places in a study released by the Mexico City-based Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice.
The rankings are based on the number of murders per 100,000 inhabitants during 2015 in cities with a population of more than 300,000. These cities were not in war zones and also had statistics available. Cities without proper stats were excluded.
Cape Town was named at number 9 with 65.53 murders per 100,000 while Durban came in at 41 with a murder rate of 35.93. Port Elizabeth was next at 42 (35.85) and Johannesburg at 47 (30.31).
The most dangerous city in the world is Caracas in Venezuela with a murder rate of 119.87. The majority of dangerous places were in South America, but the US cities of Detroit, New Orleans, St Louis and Baltimore also featured.
José Antonio Ortega Sánchez, president of the council, said: “The most significant decreases in the incidence of intentional homicides were Colombian and Mexican cities, and the highest increase was in San Salvador. This city had in 2014 a rate of 61.21 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants and 111.03 in 2015: an increase of 81.41% in only one year.”
Of the 50 cities in the ranking, 21 are in Brazil, 8 in Venezuela, 5 in Mexico, 4 in Africa, 4 in the United States, 3 in Colombia, and 2 in Honduras.
The Top 50 are:
1. Caracas, Venezuela – 119.87
2. San Pedro Sula, Honduras – 111.03
3. San Salvador, El Salvador – 108.54
4. Acapulco, Mexico – 104.73
5. Maturin, Venezuela – 86.45
6. Distrito Central, Honduras – 73.51
7. Valencia, Venezuela – 72.31
8. Palmira, Colombia – 70.88
9. Cape Town, South Africa – 65.53
10. Cali, Colombia – 64.27
11. Cuidad Guayana, Venezuela – 62.33
12. Fortaleza, Brazil – 60.77
13. Natal, Brazil – 60.66
14. Salvador, Brazil – 60.63
15. St Louis, Missouri, U.S. – 59.23
16. Joao Pessoa, Brazil – 58.40
17. Culiacan, Mexico – 56.09
18. Maceio, Brazil – 55.63
19. Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. – 54.98
20. Barquisimeto, Venezuela – 54.96
21. Sao Luis, Brazil – 53.05
22. Cuiaba, Brazil – 48.52
23. Manaus, Brazil – 47.87
24. Cumana, Venezuela – 47.77
25. Guatemala City, Guatemala – 47.17
26. Belem, Brazil – 45.83
27. Feira de Santana, Brazil – 45.5
28. Detroit, Michigan, U.S. – 43.89
29. Goiania, Brazil – 43.38
30. Teresina, Brazil – 42.64
31. Vitoria, Brazil – 41.99
32. New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. – 41.44
33. Kingston, Jamaica – 41.14
34. Gran Barcelona, Venezuela – 40.08
35. Tijuana, Mexico – 39.09
36. Vitoria da Conquista, Brazil – 38.46
37. Recife, Brazil – 38.12
38. Aracaju. Brazil – 37.7
39. Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil – 36.16
40. Campina Grande, Brazil – 36.04
41. Durban, South Africa – 35.93
42. Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa – 35.85
43. Porto Alegre, Brazil – 34.73
44. Curitiba, Brazil – 34.71
45. Pereira, Colombia – 32.58
46. Victoria, Mexico – 30.50
47. Johannesburg, South Africa – 30.31
48. Macapa, Brazil – 30.25
49. Maracaibo, Venezuela – 28.85
50. Obregon, Mexico – 28.29
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