Based on a report by Mexico Citizens Council for Public Security published in January, we have a list of the 10 most dangerous cities in the world. The criteria used is intentional homicide rates per 100,000 people in each city in 2015. Only cities with a population of above 300,000 have been considered in the ranking process.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, intentional homicide includes murder due to inter-personal conflicts, criminal or gang related reasons and socio-political agenda. These are non-war related killings and the ranking does not includes any cities or states that are currently war-ridden.
As per the global Social Progress Index report, UAE has one of the best personal safety indices at 79.44 and is ranked 27th in this category. Saudi Arabia is ranked 47th with a personal safety index of 69.34. However, the list by the Mexico Citizens Council for Public Security does not feature any Middle Eastern cities.
| Rank | City | Country | Murder rate per 100,000 people |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caracas | Venezuela | 119.87 |
| 2 | San Pedro Sula | Honduras | 111.03 |
| 3 | San Salvador | El Salvador | 108.54 |
| 4 | Acapulco | Mexico | 104.73 |
| 5 | Maturín | Venezuela | 86.45 |
| 6 | Distrito Central | Honduras | 73.51 |
| 7 | Valencia | Venezuela | 72.31 |
| 8 | Palmira | Colombia | 70.88 |
| 9 | Cape Town | South Africa | 65.53 |
| 10 | Cali | Colombia | 64.27 |
Latin America is home to 41 of the top 50 dangerous cities. Four cities in the United States of America are featured in the top 50; St. Louis (Rank 15), Baltimore (Rank 19), Detroit (Rank 28) and New Orleans (Rank 32). Apart from Cape Town, three South African cities included in the list are Durban (Rank 41), Nelson Mandela Bay (Rank 42) and Johannesburg (Rank 47).
While this list does not feature any European or Asian cities, other sources like Numbeo do have them on crime indices.
Numbeo is a crowdsourced data site and the methodology used is the perception of safety in cities, contributed by the public and updated regularly. According to the latest Numbeo figures, cities such as Gurgaon, Delhi, Noida (India), Naples (Italy), Kuala Lampur (Malaysia), Karachi (Pakistan), Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Pattaya (Thailand) feature in the top 50 dangerous cities.
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