Johannesburg - Think we live in one of the most dangerous places in the world? A list of the top 50 most violent cities in the world says otherwise.
Despite the annual crime statistics showing escalating levels of crime in the City of Gold, Joburg did not make it on to the list.
The Citizens’ Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice in Mexico did, however, list three other South African cities.
Cape Town came in at number 20, with an average of 50.94 murders per 100 000 residents.
Port Elizabeth was at number 42, with 35.76 murders per 100 000 residents and Durban at number 49, with 32.42 murders.
The study rates San Pedro Sula in Honduras as the most violent city in the world, with 187.14 murders per 100 000 residents, followed by Caracas in Venezuela (134.36) and Acapulco in Mexico (112.8).
Other cities in the top 10 of the world’s most violent urban neighbourhoods are Cali in Colombia (83.2), Maceió in Brazil (79.76), Distrito Central in Honduras (79.42), Fortaleza in Brazil (72.81), Guatemala City in Guatemala (68.4), João Pessoa in Brazil (66.92) and Barquisimeto in Venezuela (64.72).
The figures don’t include deaths in war zones or cities where data was unavailable.
The heartland of the Highveld had more good news on the international front.
It was revealed by the 2014 Good City Index that Joburg was the second most inspiring city in the world - behind Hong Kong.
According to the index’s report, among some of the things that swayed the judges to vote in favour of Joburg was the urban regeneration projects such as cycle lanes in Soweto, a mixed-use development in the area of Newtown and work done on the Johannesburg Art Fair.
Joburg scored highly in all the categories the judges use to rank the cities, such as hub of progress, city engagement, street life, defining moments, connectivity, green life, diversity and work-life balance.
This came in the same month that the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index announced that Joburg was set to become the most popular destination city in Africa for the second year in a row.
The Star