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Three SA cities listed among the world’s most dangerous places
South Africa is also rated as the third-most dangerous country, with even war-torn Afghanistan behind it.
Picture: iStock
Most South Africans know that crime is a major problem in their country, but not all realise how bad it is compared to the rest of the world.
A list of the globe’s most dangerous cities has three South African metros in the top 10.
The list was compiled by Numbeo, a database that indexes information on the quality of life such as crime, cost of living and healthcare.
The crime list is compiled with user-generated data, with residents from 452 cities around the world rating how safe they feel in their city.
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The 2021 crime index is an unwelcome sight for South Africans.
According to Numbeo, Pretoria (Tshwane) is the world’s second-most dangerous city. Johannesburg is ranked fourth, while Durban is sixth. Cape Town, the only other South African city indexed by Numbeo, is ranked 18th.
The only city in the world deemed to be more dangerous than Pretoria is Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.
10 most dangerous cities:
| Rank | City | Crime Index |
| 1 | Caracas, Venezuela | 84.35 |
| 2 | Pretoria, SA | 82.14 |
| 3 | Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | 82.03 |
| 4 | Johannesburg, SA | 80.74 |
| 5 | San Pedro Sula, Honduras | 80.69 |
| 6 | Durban, SA | 80.57 |
| 7 | Kabul, Afghanistan | 78.53 |
| 8 | Fortaleza, Brazil | 78.24 |
| 9 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 77.52 |
| 10 | Recife, Brazil | 76.49 |
Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is rated as the world’s safest city.
Doha (Qatar), Taipei (Taiwan), Sharjah (UAE) and Quebec (Canada) round off the world’s safest places to live.
South Africa also fares badly if you look at the rankings by country. South Africa is rated as the third-most dangerous country, with even war-torn Afghanistan behind it.
10 most dangerous countries:
| Rank | Country | Crime Index |
| 1 | Venezuela | 83.76 |
| 2 | Papua New Guinea | 80.79 |
| 3 | South Africa | 76.86 |
| 4 | Afghanistan | 76.31 |
| 5 | Honduras | 74.54 |
| 6 | Trinidad And Tobago | 71.63 |
| 7 | Guyana | 68.74 |
| 8 | El Salvador | 67.79 |
| 9 | Brazil | 67.49 |
| 10 | Jamaica | 67.42 |
Increase in rape and murder in SA
The crime index comes after Police Minister Bheki Cele last Friday released the second-quarter crime statistics for 2021.
The stats paint a bleak picture: all contact crimes such as rape, murder, and attempted murder have increased during the three-month period (July 2021 to September 2021).
Murders increased by 1,056 compared to the same period last year, while rape increased by 7%. Cases of assault also increased, with more than 13,000 of these cases classified as domestic violence.
NOW READ: Crime stats: Drastic increase in rape and murder during second quarter
Additional reporting by Cheryl Kahla
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