South Africa has ranked as the fourth most dangerous country in the world, according to Numbeo’s crime index – with four local cities ranked among the 10 most dangerous.
The Numbeo Crime Index is based on survey responses, where users were asked to score the level of crime in their country and city from bad (-2) to good (+2), where 0 is average.
The survey deals with citizens’ levels of fear around violent crimes, property being stolen, hate crimes based on ethnicity or religion, and even corruption and bribery.
As a perceptions index, it does not deal with actual crime stats, but rather how safe and secure citizens feel in their cities, with the safety index asking how safe they feel walking alone during the day and at night.
Globally, South Africa ranks fourth below Venezuela, Papua New Guinea and Honduras – Latin American nations known for their high levels of crime.
South Africa is only one of three African nations ranked in the top 20 most dangerous countries, ahead of Namibia and Nigeria, and ranks ahead of war zone nations like Afghanistan and Syria.
Overall, the highest scoring crime category for South Africa was corruption and bribery – with being insulted racking up the lowest score.
Top 10 Most Dangerous Countries to live in Africa, 2018
Rank | Country | Crime Index
1. South Africa – 76.08
2. Namibia – 68.10
3. Kenya – 63.63
4. Nigeria – 61.48
5 Tanzania – 60.42
6. Libya – 57.73
7. Somalia – 54.72
8. Zimbabwe – 52.77
9. Egypt – 52.36
10. Algeria – 50.82
11. Ghana – 49.79
12. Morocco – 48.97
13. Ethiopia – 48.24
14. Mauritius – 46.99
15. Tunisia – 41.19
Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities in Africa, 2018
The index also covers 331 cities from around the world, with thousands of citizens being surveyed. In africa the top 4 most dangerous cities are all in South Africa.
Around 1,200 South Africans gave responses, with six cities meeting the response requirements to be included in the index as statistically relevant.
Pietermartizburg was found to be the most dangerous city in Africa, with the highest crime index and lowest safety index. They are closely followed by Johannesburg (Top violent crimes and the overall crime levels), Pretoria (Highest murder rate in the country), Durban (Highest index rating for corruption and bribery), and Port Elizabeth.
Most Dangerous Cities in Africa, 2018
Rank | Country | Crime Index
1. Pietermaritzburg, South Africa – 82.48
2. Johannesburg, South Africa 1 80.08
3. Pretoria, South Africa – 80.07
4. Durban, South Africa – 79.95
5. Port Elizabeth, South Africa – 76.02
6. Windhoek, Namibia – 71.40
7. Cape Town, South Africa – 70.22
8. Nairobi, Kenya – 64.57
9. Lagos, Nigeria – 63.45
10. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – 63.04
