The rising levels of crime have affected all South Africans in some way or another – whether its carrying pepper spray on you at all times or making sure you have a tracking app on your phone to ensure all your loved ones know where you are at all times.

Numbeo has released their latest Crime Index, and both Cape Town and Johannesburg feature among the world’s 20 most dangerous cities. The Index is based on citizen surveys from cities across the globe, with approximately 85 000 people participating from over 5 000 regions.

According to Numbeo, a significant number of South Africans gave their feedback on both the Mother City and City of Gold. What will surprise many, however, is that Pietermartizburg was rated as the most unsafe South African city.

Citizens were quizzed on 12 main areas of concern for each city, and were asked to rate their feelings from 1 to 100. The average total for each city acts as its Crime Index number.

Cape Town performed much better than Johannesburg did, and scored a 10% better score than the City of Gold. The main concern of those who live in Johannesburg is the presence of drug dealers.

Cape Town ranks higher than Johannesburg (Source: Numbeo)

The world’s 20 most unsafe cities, according to Numbeo, include: 

  1. Caracas, Venezuela
  2. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
  3. Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
  4. Pretoria, South Africa
  5. Durban, South Africa
  6. Johannesburg, South Africa
  7. San Pedro Sula, Honduras
  8. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  9. Recife, Brazil
  10. Port Elizabeth, South Africa
  11. Porto Alegre, Brazil
  12. Kabul, Afghanistan
  13. Port of Spain, Trinidad And Tobago
  14. Salvador, Brazil
  15. Memphis, TN, United States
  16. Baltimore, MD, United States
  17. Cape Town, South Africa
  18. Detroit, MI, United States
  19. San Salvador, El Salvador
  20. Windhoek, Namibia

Picture: Unsplash

Article written by

Lucinda is a hard news writer who occasionally dabbles in lifestyle writing, and recent journalism graduate. She is a proud intersectional feminist, and is passionate about actively creating a world which is free of discrimination and inequality.