Africa’s most dangerous cities: See where South Africa sits

South Africa lays claim to 5 of the African continent’s most dangerous cities. This is thanks to the alarming crime levels.

AFRICAN CITIES

Here is the list of 10 African cities with the highest crime levels, at the start of the new year.

Data to compile this list was obtained from Numbeo. 

ALSO READ: Two SA cities rank among Africa’s most polluted

HIGH CRIME RATES

Several cities in Africa are considered to be very dangerous. This is because of high crime rates.

Poverty, lack of access to health, education, and economic inequalities create conditions where people might turn to crime to eke out an existence.

These crimes include muggings, break-ins, hijackings, cash-in-transit heists, armed robberies and more.

SOUTH AFRICA

Sadly, the most crime-ridden cities on the continent are located in South Africa.

Three cities – Windhoek, Harare and Nairobi – in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region also fall into the top most dangerous cities in Africa.  

South Africa dominates the list with 5 of its cities sitting at the top of the list.

Here is a list of the top African cities, with the highest crime index at the start of 2024:

Position	City	Country	Crime Index	Global Ranking
1	Pretoria	South Africa	81.8	2
2	Durban	South Africa	80.9	3
3	Johannesburg	South Africa	80.7	4
4	Port Elizabeth	South Africa	77.0	8
5	Cape Town	South Africa	73.5	16
6	Lagos	Nigeria	68.0	27
7	Windhoek	Namibia	67.6	30
8	Harare	Zimbabwe	61.0	57
9	Nairobi	Kenya	59.1	67
10	Casablanca	Morocco	54.4	93

ALSO READ: BRICS membership: Another country holds off

CRIMES IN URBAN CENTRES

Business Insider states that crime tends to be higher in urban rather than rural areas.

According to Numbeo’s updated crime index, city crime rates vary. Higher frequencies of crime were observed in densely populated regions, than rural or suburban areas.

DETERMINING DATA

The number of crimes committed in a certain area during a given period, often recorded per capita per year, is measured as the crime rate in that specific area.

This figure is generally shown as the number of crimes or events per 100 000 people.

According to Numbeo, crime levels between 40 and 60 are moderate, while those between 60 and 80 are classified as high.

And, crime levels exceeding 80 are considered extremely high.

ALSO READ: ECOWAS bloc loses three member states: See here

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM LORNE PHILPOT