FOUR SA CITIES IN TOP 50 MOST VIOLENT IN THE WORLD
Four major South African cities have been named in the list of the top 50 most violent cities in the world. This follows the “shameful” news of 87-year-old Ndebele artist Esther Mahlangu being robbed and attacked. This was at her home at Siyabuswa near KwaMhlanga, in Mpumalanga.
The list has been curated by the Mexican Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice and features the most violent cities as calculated by the number of murders per 100 000 people for the period 2021/2022. It only considered cities with a population exceeding 300 000 where murder statistics are made available.
Mexico dominated the list with eight of the most violent cities in the top 10. Zamora, in Mexico, is ranked as the most violent city in the world. The city has more than 196 murders per 100 000 people and is followed by:
- Ciudad Obregón with 155 murders per 100 000 people;
- Zacatecas with 107 murders per 100 000 people.
St Louis in the United States and Jamaica’s capital, Kingston, are the only non-Mexican cities featured in the top 10. Mexico is considered one of the most violent countries with eight cities in the top 10 alone. A further 10 of the country’s cities also appear in the top 50 Most violent Cities in the World rankings.
WHICH ARE THE FOUR SOUTH AFRICAN CITIES?
Cape Town was ranked at number 11. This because the city recorded 62 murders per 100 000 people. A total of 2911 murders were recorded for the period. The cities murder rate can be linked to gang-related violence. The other South African cities are:
- Nelson Mandela Bay was ranked at number 23 with 52 murders per 100 000 people. There were 631 murders for the recorded period.
- Durban ranked at number 35 with close to 40 murders per 100 000 people. There were 1603 murders for the recorded period.
- Johannesburg was ranked at number 48 with close to 31 murders per 100 000 people. There were 1853 murders over the recorded period.
South Africa’s data was calculated from local statistics published by Stats SA and the South African Police Service (SAPS).