As another procrastination technique this morning, I’ve been doing a search on google to find out what people consider to be the world’s most dangerous cities, as well as the world’s most dangeorus countries. Admittedly, this is not a scientific exercise. There seem to be many opinions out there, and several newspapers report varying statistics. Maybe somewhere, there’s a very official list, but in lieu of discovering that, it’s fun to speculate.
Most Dangerous Country
South Africa always ends up on the list as #2 for world’s most dangerous countries. (#1 spot seems to usually go to Colombia or Jamaica.) This is very comforting, as I’m not going to either Jamaica or Colombia, but I am about to leave for South Africa.
Most Dangerous Cities
I am not surprised that Johannesburg always makes the list of the top ten most dangerous cities in the world. Jozi is a city that scares the hell out of me, too, which is why I stay with a family when I go there. I don’t have any interest in hotels, renting a car, travelling without purpose, not knowing where I’m going.
But I did find several other surprises. Ciudad Juarez–a city I know well because I grew up in El Paso, a stone’s throw away from Juarez–has started creeping up to take the #1 or #2 spot. It even outranks Baghdad! Joburg seems to hover around the bottom middle of the list. And thank God, neither Cape Town nor Durban show up at all.
The most surprising list of all was this one. Maclean’s apparently ranked London as #10 and Saskatoon, Canada as #9. Really???? Detroit was #5, beating Johannesburg by 2 spots, which is listed as the 7th most dangerous city in the world. This website tries to explain why the cities received the rankings they did. London has apparently had a huge increase in knife violence in the past couple of years, while Saskatoon has a lot of aggravated assault and robbery, sexual assault, and homicide problems. The world’s #8 most dangerous city, Norilsk RUSSIA, has been closed to foreign visitors since 2001. Crazy. Oddly, the world’s #3 most dangerous city, Linfen CHINA, is dangerous because of air pollution. Yes, not crime. But if you go there, your lungs will get fouled up and you’ll never be the same. Interesting….This list ranks Ciudad Juarez as the world’s #2 most dangerous city and that, of course, has to be because of the drug war tearing that city apart. The world’s #1 most dangerous city is Mogadishu. Okay, glad I’m not going there!!!
Now, to stop procrastinating and to get back to work….
Thanks for the pingback. I know that it seems strange that Saskatoon is such a dangerous city, but crime is sometimes a tricky thing to quantify. Nevertheless, the numbers are quite alarming.
Louise Brown
TravelPod Community Manager
I know. It might seem intuitive to rely on police statistics to understand the level of crime in a city, but I don’t think that really explains it either.
15 most dangerous cities in the world outside of war (at their peak):
01) San Pedro Sula, Honduras
02) Medellin, Colombia
03) Tegucigalpa, Honduras
04) Bogota, Colombia
05) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
06) Sao Paulo, Brazil
07) Cali, Colombia
0 Guatemala City
09) Johannesburg, South Africa
10) San Salvador, El Salvador
11) Durban, South Africa
12) Cape Town, South Africa
13) Barrancabermeja, Colombia
14) Port Elizabeth, South Africa
15) Caracas, Venezuela
What kind of idiot made this list? I’ve lived in Saskatoon my entire life and have never been a victim of a crime. Besides one core area, you can walk around care free day or night without feeling threatened. Last year, we had two murders in a city of 240,000. There are 100 cities in the U.S. that are more dangerous, let alone the world. I’ve travelled all over the world and believe me that this list is the biggest joke i’ve seen!!
I could buy most of the cities on the list…but Saskatoon struck me as kind of odd.
the most dangerous cities, huh?
Well, here’s a top 20.
1. Baghdad, Iraq
2. Mogadishu, Somalia
3. San Salvador, El Salvador
4. Caracas, Venezuela
5. Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
6. Bujumbura, Burrundi
7. Johannesburg, South Africa
8. Medellin, Colombia
9. Guatamala city, Guatamala
10. Khartoum, Sudan
11. Tegucigalpa, Honduras
12. Kingston, Jamaica
13. Cali, Colombia
14. Barranquillia, Colombia
15. San Pedro Sula, Honduras
16. Sao Paulo, Brazil
17. St. Louis USA
18. Karachi, Pakistan
19. Manilla, Phillipenes
20. Detroit, USA
St. Louis is more dangerous than Detroit???
When I traveled to Brazil in 1996, I took a look at a book called “How to get into, around, and out of the most dangerous places in the world.” The entire country of Brazil rated one page; Los Angeles had its own chapter. (So did Rwanda.)
The city I live near has a much higher crime rate than police statistics show. Politically it’s important for them to remain one of the top ten cities to live in, in the U.S.
Colombia? most dangerous country? they dont even belong in the top 30. Uribe, the president has been destroying the terrorists in Colombia, making Colombia probably one of the safest countries in Latin America right now. I live near Detroit, and yes, that place is extremely dangerous. Driving through there scares the hell out of you.
My top 5
1. Mogadishu
2. Baghdad
3. Johannesburg
4. Caracas
5. San Salvador.
Once again Colombia is not AS dangerous as it used to be.
J.L Power, I love your style of writing. As I told you, I am little hook about reading all what you got of experiences. I traveled in my mind and imagine your experiences in South Africa.
I wanted to respond to this section, since, yes… I am a survivor of the Juarez cartel war.
I lived most of my life, as you know, here in Juarez, but this last three years has been a big challenge. Do not get me wrong, I am not paralized with fear of getting out there to the streets of my dear city; but part of our culture shift has been to take more precautions when you go to buy some groceries or to visit a friend.
It was not long time ago that my wife and I were in middle of a shooting. The special cartel commando were firing to a police car almost 20 feet from our car when we were stopping at a traffic light. We had to duck under the steering wheel, and we were amazed on how the night was illuminated with the machine guns. It was if they were welders doing their job on a structure all around our car. There was a short prayer… there was a moment of trusting God and patiently waiting for them to finish their dark assignment. We were amazed that we were not hit by a lost bullet. But we were even more amazed to see the salvage action taken on other human beings.
I had the opportunity to walk toward those pour policemen and pray for their souls.
In that moment, I knew that a war started. Yes, we are in a middle of a war. Last year we had 1600 people dead in this cartel war in our city. They said that there were more deceased in our city than than soldiers killed in the Iraq war last year. I do not know. What I know now, is that we are surrounded by 10 thousand troops, several helicopters, and high-tech espionage, in order to take care of the two cartels that are fighting for control of our city.
But, our faith in God, our love for our city and our families is keeping many of us together and making us survivors. And I am joyfully surprised to see that people are standing with honor, preserving true values, a sense of overcoming this with a good attitude and effort. And people that are expressing boldly their faith in a God that is sovereign over everything.
Maybe in one of our worst times of history, there are the best kind of people around our city.
Thank you for writing your experiences, I am looking forward to reading more from your heart.
Much respect,
Fito Avitia
lol being a south african living in johannesburg, i couldn’t disagree with all the comments more… yes there is crime.. and yes there are areas that you should steer clear of, but i think just about any city in the world has these. I have lived here for 30 years now and have not been affected by the “rampant crime”.
so i don’t think listing Johannesburg number 3 after 1. Mogadishu
2. Baghdad is entirely true at all!
Duncan
How the hell did London make that list? London is as tame as rural New Jersey.
You know, Duncan, I was scared of Joburg the first two trips I made to South Africa. But I spent a few weeks there in April, staying with a family in Cosmo City, and I got over the fear. I do think you have to be more careful than if you live in the average American or European city, but it’s also true that there’s just a lot of wonderful people there and once you’ve been there awhile (and feel comfortable where you’re going), you’ll be fine…. I’d still advise people to avoid Hillbrow. AND, I might add, most of my friends in South Africa have been mugged at least once, something that’s not true for my friends in the U.S.
For some idiots here, in a recent research in Brazil, Sao Paulo got just the 483º of 500 most dangerous brazilian cities. It´s just the 23º most dangerous capital in Brazil (we have 27). You guys need more information to make any list about it. Even Rio de Janeiro, is the 3º most dangerous capital here.
The magazine Foreign Policy has a top 5 about the most dangerous CAPITALS check it out: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4480
Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea got 54 in murder rate. Rio de Janeiro it doesn´t mentioned, nut in the brazilian resarch it got 33.2 murder rate and Sao Paulo, PAY ATENTION, Sao Paulo got just 11.5 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Look for some indformation before talking shit.
Cheers
What the hell? Why is colombia in there 3 times? Why isnt new york in there? Los Angeles? wtf? Ive lived in colombia and okay it can be dangerous but medellin is a beautiful city. the poeple are extremely nice and the crime rate has extremely decrased. but nooo you dont put that in you stupid little list do you? thatnks a lot for making MY country look bad. It really isnt. colombia is a great tourist place to visit and its not like the FARC is gonna come out to the city and kill you?!?! that was before. waaaaaay before. colombia has become a ot more safe to be with and our govt. is working extremely hard like for you stupid son of a .!@@#@$%%$^& to come and make it sound bad. i dont see american cities in there. try spending a night in the bronx ti see how safe it is..
The usual lying bullshit from certain Colombians. One of the lists that had Medellin on it was an all-time list for fuck’s sake, what’s wrong with you people?? The paramilitaries with probablre government support terrorized the ordinary criminals in Medellin and brought the murder rate down, there was nothing innocent about it and now they’ve been extradited the murder rates’ rocketing..
The biggest problem in Colombian isn’t the FARC like Colombians would have you berlieve but common delinquents. Liers, lies and more lies! Spend a night in the Bronx?? Spend a fucking night in Comuna 13 in Medellin then you’ll fucking know about it! These people want to show you the front door but not what’s on the inside! I’ve never come across a race that pretend they don’t have a crime problem as much as the Colombians. Liars!
Most dangerous urban areas in the world for the year 2007.
Key > ‘Area’ = ‘hostile homicides’ / ‘population’:
1. Baghdad, Iraq = 10,917 / 6,492,200
2. Caracas, Venezuela = 2,710 / 2,084,615
3. Guatemala City, Guatemala = 1,239 / 1,071,391
4. East London, South Africa = 601 / 549,300
5. Maceio, Brazil = 1,062 / 1,111,678
6. Kingston, Jamaica = 1,014 / 1,134,188
7. Recife, Brazil = 2,680 / 3,658,318
8. Vitoria, Brazil = 1,329 / 1,609,628
9. Tumaco, Colombia = 264 / 167,513
10. Cali, Colombia = 1,686 / 2,461,435
basically it shows that Latin America is the most dangerous continent in the world.
I’m not sure you can extrapolate from a few dangerous cities to the most dangerous continent. There are certainly a lot of places in Central and South America where I would not want to travel….But there are a lot of places on the African continent where I wouldn’t want to travel either….
im.. i am a papua new guinean AT HEART i was born there and lived there basically all my life.. well so far…. where the hell is PORT MORESBY????? THE REASON WHY ALL THOSE LISTS ARE BULLSHIT IS BECAUSE NOBODY dares to go there!!! its normal to get shot just because of A mobile fone that the theif wanted iv been a recent victim of the crime there and trust me it aint preety! SO BEFORE YOU ALL GO PREECHING YOUR BULLSHIT VISIT THE PORT MORESBY MATE!!!
THATS WHY ITS CALLED THE LAND OF THE UNEXPECTED!
los angeles is crazy13r than all these fukin places
los angeles is crazy13r than all these fukin places
this message is for ken ,ok stupid ASSHOLE!!! how can you call a whole fucking race lair???? Im colombian ,SO WHAT!!! and the fucking truth is that colombia is not irak !!!! simple as that!!! colombia has problems ,yes as any other country in this fucking and small planet ,get it ???? im from cali ,and it is pretty safe if u use common sense !!!!! I have been living in new york for more than a year and every single day there’s news about death people and Robers and people killing people etc etc !!!!try to go to the fucking bronx at night !!! do the same in “agua blanca” in cali ,same shit!!! good and bad people is around all the world ,not only in my FUCKING country !!! and we are not lairs !! we have one of the most beautiful countries in the planet ,and is not fair that people can not enjoy such a pretty place just because stupid,ignorant and really slow minded people like you believe all the bullshit that YOUR government says about us ,so please ,first read and learn a little about the rest of countries ,we KNOW we have problems ,we know there’s a few bad guys doing bad things over there but the 99 % of colombia is SAFE!!! and Im so fucking sure that brazil ,venezuela ,ecuador ,peru ,paraguay ,uruguay ,chile ,argentina ,exico ,honduras etc etc etc is the same thing ,all of those countries have problems but as normal and regular countries ,if u look on U.N all america ,Im talkning about america as a continent not as u.s.a , all america is pretty safe ,is even more dangerous some countries in europe or in “medio oriente ” but again ,is the same thing everywhere ,the world is not safe now ,everywhere you are in danger ,more in some places ,less in others but always in danger ,COLOMBIA is not the most dangerous countries and its cities are not the most dangerous ,you should go there and im sure that you would love staying there as many americans did before ,colombia is great ,all latin america is great because at least we are happy and we are nice people ,not like you ,ARROGANT AND STUPID GRINGO!!!
i live in el paso(border to juarez) and i agree juarez is the top most dangerous city i have many friends whos family members have died because of the drug war it is painful to know because jarez has the best and nicest people and i hope things get better soon….
I think that people who have never visited a city should not mouth off about how “dangerous” they think it is. Reading some B.S. off the internet doesn’t mean that it’s true. I’m half Brazilian and have visited Sao Paulo and Rio de Janiero several times. I have family who live in both cities and I’ve never felt in danger or threatened in either city. I live in L.A. and have felt more threatened in Watts and Compton by far. I’ve felt much more threatened when I drove through Tijuana in mexico. I went on a trip to Nairobi Kenya when I was 13 and can tell you that it’s a more dangerous city than Sao Paulo and Rio. Yeah there are bad parts of Rio and Sao Paulo where crime occurs but you just don’t go there. As there are in most cities in the world. But saying Rio de Janiero is one of the most dangerous cities in the world is like saying the same thing about L.A. when all you take into consideration is Inglewood and Compton.
All I have to say is, if you don’t have any common sence it will not matter what city you go to. Do your homework and you will not become a victom or a statistic.
CS AND KEN:
You two are clueless! ask americans that have moved to Bogota to make a living if it is that dangerous you stupid morons! Crime rates are record low! of course violence still exist, all big cities are fucking dangerous…. NY, Miami and Chicago can be very dangerous too! of course that would be bad publicity, so let’s just put down the rest of the world right???? that’s the way american media always do it!
Just do a little researach and then bring an educated opinion, don’t embarras your self!
Foreign investment has been rising during the past 5 years due to extreme changes in security throughout the Country. thousands of foreigners in cluding americans are making a living there as I type this comment.
Some advice for tese two morons, before making a comment, doa little research and know what the f*** you are talking about!
OK — you people are funny!!!!!!!!! first off I was born in Bogota, my family moved hre (u.s.a.) when I was one so I might as well have been born here but I wasn’t!! all I knew about colombia was what I saw on T.v or what I heard people say– the first time I visited colombia I was 26 and went there alone,to be honest I was scared as hell at first, mow growing up around New York and Jersey I know what tough neighborhoods are, I also was a Truck Driver and have been all over the United States–my point is everything you’ve heard about Colombia is exaggertaed 100 times over!!!!! thats not to say its the safest place on earth, not at all, but neither is Detroit, N.Y. , Newark,Chicago,Miami or Atlanta were I saw a 15 year old get Shot in front of me— Like I was saying the first I was nervous, talk about culture shock, although I speak perfect spanish (w/ a Colombian accent) I’m not from there so at first I was weary about everyone– but after two days I found myself saying “come on” Newark is more dangerous than this— I jumped on Buses and cabs in teh south Bogota in what is know as the badest part of the city and nothing at all happened to me— funny thing is strangers helped me when I was lost and even took me to catch the right bus to were I was going ,even waited with me to make sure I got on the right bus— two families invited me to eat dinner after meeting them that same day in aa neighborhood named “miradores de morocos” which is really poor!!!! just cause they are poor doesnt mean they are bad-I found the warmest most decent and giving people I’ve ever meet in Colombia– I found myself not wanting to leave and fell completely in Love with the Place that gave me Life–Colombia isn’t for everyone, but for me I plan on moving there when I retire
The security situation in Colombia has improved greatly and Bogota is now one of the safer big cities in Latin America. You still need to exercice caution, but the violence in Bogota is a far cry from what it used to be in the 80′s and 90′s, and from the levels of violence in Caracas, San Salvador, JoBurg or even New Orleans. Just fyi, Colombians are NOT a race, Colombians can be of any race, ranging from caucasian to black.
Five World’s Most Dangerous Cities
By dorotix, October 14th 2009 in Travel Destinations Comments (100)
Stumble The crime statistics of world’s five most dangerous cities are disheartening and shocking. With such high rates of homicide, robberies and violence these cities deservedly bear the names of ‘the places of chaos and death’ or ‘the murder capitals of the world’. Despite the scary data, some of them still remain wanted tourist destinations, though extreme caution is strongly advised when visiting.
5. Cape Town. South Africa.
62 killings per 100 000 residents
Cape Town. By Hubert January
Crime has been a major problem in South Africa (both for locals and travelers) for many years now, and the murder and robbery statistics loom large in today’s society.
The “good” news is that the number of killings declined by 3.4% to around 18 000 (sic!) between April 2008 and March 2009. Still there are 50 murders a day in South Africa. The latest data shows that there have been 71,500 sexual offenses (10% increase), 18,400 burglaries (27% increase), and 13,900 business robberies (41% increase) reported from April 2008 to March 2009. If it’s any consolation, the street robbery declined by 7% to 72,194.
Cape Town by night. By derekkeats
The beautifully located Cape Town is among the most dangerous towns in the country due to its high level of robberies, rapes, kidnappings and murders. The city is about the same size as Caracas and it has a murder rate of 62 per 100,000 inhabitants. According to the police, the homicides usually occur in the poorer districts and suburbs of the town rather than in upscale areas. Due to the poverty (the country has been facing a deep recession) the robberies are common. Therefore, traveling alone and using ATM’s at night is not advised.
4. New Orleans. The USA.
95 killings per 100 000 residents
New Orleans, French Quarter. By ohad*
The homicide rate in New Orleans ranks way above other American cities and towns, and therefore the city has been named the murder capital of the USA. The total number of murders equaled 179 in 2008 in this small city of around 300,000 residents. Nevertheless, there have been 15% fewer killings in 2008 than in 2007 when the police reported 210 murders. Also other crime rates are dropping in the town. Rape went down by 44% and armed robbery 4.85% in 2008 in comparison to 2007.
Downtown New Orleans. By schleifnet
Still, according to the FBI data there have been 95 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2008. In turn New Orleans Police Department reported 67 murders per 100,000 in 2008. A scary comparison has recently been made by the Time magazine stating that Baghdad in Iraq with its murder rate of about 48 per 100,000 people is now being safer, considering the statistics, than New Orleans.
Violent crime is a serious problem especially in the low-income neighborhoods of the town. Lonely Planet advises travelers to New Orleans to be cautious and avoid walks at night, especially if you are alone.
3. Caracas. Venezuela.
130 killings per 100 000 residents
Caracas. By Luiz Felipe Castro
Another unsafe destination among world’s most dangerous cities is Caracas, the capital of Venezuela.
At the end of 2008 the Foreign Policy magazine called the city “the murder capital of the world”. According to the official statistics there have been 130 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2008. Only in December 2008 there were at least 510 people killed in the capital, as CNN reported.
Caracas. By Gidsicki
The problems of Caracas are not only drug trade and gang battles, but also increasing poverty of the city inhabited by around 4 million people. Murders mainly take place in the capital’s poorest areas – between 1970s and 1990s the poverty rate increased by 300% to 65%. Although during the oil boom the economic situation improved, the poverty level remains very high.
Moreover, experts underline that the murder ratio has increased by 67% since President Chavez took control over the country. There is police abuse, no gun control, and no good control over the militias, as various media report.
2. Ciudad Juárez. Mexico
130 killings per 100 000 residents
Ciudad Juarez and El Paso. By charlie llewellin
Also Mexico, one of the world’s greatest travel destinations thanks to its fascinating history and stunning natural sites, is, unfortunately, facing a serious problem of robbery, kidnapping, sexual assault and drug-related crimes.
Among worst affected areas in the country is the Chihuahua state and, above all, Ciudad Juárez. The city located across the U.S and Mexican border, home to 1.5 million people, has recently got a very bad reputation due to its shocking rates of violence. Bloody and violent fighting between the drug cartels have spread across the town, posing a serious threat to locals and travelers.
Ciudad Juarez. By scazon
Since January 2007 there have been 8330 drug-related murders reported in Mexico, of which 50% accounted for Ciudad Juárez. The city reports 130 murders per 100,000 inhabitants (as of August 2009), which is currently the world’s highest murder rate ( outside the official war zone). In February 2009 the U.S. State Department announced that since January 2008 there had been 1,800 people killed in the city.
1. Mogadishu. Somalia.
No data
Displaced people fleeing from Mogadishu. By Abdurrahman Warsameh/ ISN Security Watch
The governments’ warnings about traveling to Somalia are unanimous: this African country remains extremely dangerous and there is an enormous risk to anyone’s security due to the threat of terrorism, clan-based and ethnic fighting as well as high level of kidnapping and piracy off the coast.
Mogadishu. By ctsnow
The epicenter of this brutal crimes and cruelty is Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital. The city has been devastated by the ongoing civil war. As of 2008, around half of the city’s population (0.5 million) have left the war-torn capital, according to the United Nations. Dozens of people are wounded every day in Mogadishu, and frequent bombings kill many of civilians. No one really knows how many people have been killed in the city, but without dispute Mogadishu remains the most lawless and dangerous city in the world. This is how BBC describes the everyday scenes in Mogadishu: “The crump of mortars; the crackle of gunfire; eerily empty streets; prowling guerrillas and looters; sprawling refugee camps; hospitals overflowing with casualties, their bodies smashed open by bullets, shells and shrapnel…”.
Since the overthrow of President Siad Barre in 1991 one million people have lost lives in Somalia due to the civil war and famine.
I have lived in Johannesburg for 12 years, and I know this for a fact: It is a GREAT city, safe as long as you are sensible, with the best weather in South Africa. I have lived in Cape Town too, and you can keep it – it is a FAR more dangerous place than Johannesburg whichever way you look at it – the murder-rate there is truly staggering. And the weather sucks.
Yeh, been to about half of the cities on your lists…. (latin American cities), and am in Cali right now. Colombia is about as safe as you´ll find in Latin America. Nicaragua for example is pretty hardcore for tourists, but in quiet a few of these countries there is serious under reporting of crime because the cops are useless. An example of this was i was stabbed in Nicaragua and had to fight off 3 guys with knives, but there was little point to going to the cops cos they were hopeless, and i didnt need to go to hospital… so i didnt. I did tell them about it 5 days later when my hotel got robbed and had to get a police report for insurance, but they hardly seemed to be suprised or care.
FOR KEN. Go to COlombia
I am from China i have been in Colombia and other countries in south america like Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia doing research. I have been even what stupid americans and europeans will call very dangerous places. The only thing I can say is that Colombia and its people are wonderful and it is a magic country to visit. KEN your words have a lot of rage, i dont understand why some people is trying to show that Colombia is terrible when the truth is that is a beautiful country to visit. Even you have the dare to call Colombians liers, what is wrong with you? Americans want to show COlombia is bad because i think they need Colombia´s war to continue to sell weapons and make money with drugs because actually all the money from drugs stay in united states. Just a few percentage is going to colombia and that one is spent buying weapons to United states. What i really found in Colombia were americans saying that work for OMGs when in reality they were in drugs bussiness. Americans policies are bad and they want to show to the world other reality. They think they can control all the world. Most of americans dont even know the rest of the world and make comments based on stupid statistics that read in internet. DONT BELIEVE IN AMERICAN NEWS AND STATISTICS THEY ARE NOT TRUTH. KEN FIND OUT WHO CONTROL COLOMBIANS WAR AND COLOMBIAN PRODUCTION OF COCAIN YOU WILL SURPRISE ALL THE PEOPLE BEHIND THESE BUSINESSES ARE AMERICANS, MAYBE YOU ARE ONE OF THEM.
Some of the anti-Americanism we could do without. Bogota is wwaaayy more dangerous than the New York area (which includes Newark).
Juan, your hometown Cali has twice as many murders as New York with 1/7 of the population. A lot more of Colombia’s violence is also due to a local rather than overseas drug problem.
CS that’s a pretty good list. Well researched.
New Orleans is a fudge, the murder rate (which is really about 70 per 100,000) is for the small city center excluding suburbs which is an irresponsible use of data according to the FBI and American Society of Criminology. I’ve done my list again and cut out suburb-less Guatemala City for which I have no metropolitan area figure whilst including New Orleans with suburbs.
Most dangerous urban areas in the world for the year 2007.
Key > ‘Area’ = ‘hostile homicides’ / ‘population’:
1. Baghdad, Iraq = 10,917 / 6,492,200
2. Caracas, Venezuela = 2,710 / 2,084,615
3. East London, South Africa = 601 / 549,300
4. Maceio, Brazil = 1,062 / 1,111,678
5. Kingston, Jamaica = 1,014 / 1,134,188
6. Recife, Brazil = 2,680 / 3,658,318
7. Vitoria, Brazil = 1,329 / 1,609,628
8. Tumaco, Colombia = 264 / 167,513
9. Cali, Colombia = 1,686 / 2,461,435
10. Cape Town, South Africa = 2,222 / 3,499,213
??? New Orleans, United States = 289 / 1,026,639
Bogota should not be in any of these lists, the murder rate is only 20 over 100,000, there are at least 10 cities in the USA including Miami, Detroit, Washigton, Chicago and LA which have similar or worst indexes. Cali and Medillin are indeed dangerous but never like Caracas or Rio. Colombia is a very nice place for hollydays and Bogota has a very cool nightlife!lol
i am from Medellin Colombia, yes it is nothing compare to the 80′s and 90′s… in that era we average between 4,000 to 6,000 homicides a year. yea now it is way better than it use to be but don’t get me wrong since 2009 the murder rate has been increasing. in 2009 we had 2,400 homocides which hasn’t been that high since 2003. this 2010 looks like its going to be worst.
Alex, Bogota is more dangerous than all those American cities because you’re including Bogota’s suburbs whilst excluding them for Detroit, Washington etc using just small central cities which have a lot of overcrowding from people who live in the suburbs. As I’ve said, this is an irresponsible use of data according to the FBI statistics department and American Society of Criminology. Everyone abuses these guidelines but it doesn’t make it right. In fact, Bogota is far more dangerous than those American cities it’s worse than LA, Miami and Chicago even without their suburbs.
I have to make another correction here, again, Cali and Medellin are worse than Rio as well.
A lot of the comments sound slightly paranoid. This blog is about the ‘world’s most dangerous cities’ not ‘hide the violence in Colombia and it’s cities’. Why should Colombia get preferential treatment? It’s ridiculous you can’t hide people DYING while inflating violence in US cities to make them look the same or worse I mean that’s just sick…that’s darkness.
Andres I appreciate your honesty and everything you said is spot on. We need to stick to the subject.
This list is total rubbish. ALSO, DON’T LISTEN TO THE STUPID, UNTRAVELED, ARROGANT AMERICANS THEY ARE JUST FED PURE PROPAGANDA,THEY SPOUT BULL SHIT WITH NO REAL KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT.
MOST AMERICANS BELIEVE THAT 80% OF THE WORLDS POPULATION LIVE IN USA???
USA IS A PROPAGANDA NATION ONLY COMPARABLE TO NORTH KOREA. BUT WITH A HIGHER CRIME RATE.
I do not understand how Colombia can be rated so high. I myself was 18 when I went backpacking around Colombia. I started in Caracas and ended in Bogota. I had issues in Caracas mainly due to the fact that I am white. Not once did I have a single issue in Colombia. I was in Santa Marta, Cartagena, Bogota, Barranquilla, San Gil, Cali, and Menzailles. I traveled extensively staying at least three days in each place. I traveled at night and during the day. By bus, taxi, boat, and every other form of transportation. I think that inorder to rate a city effectively you have to go there. Travel at any time to any area. People will get attacked and blame the city when in reality it is most likely their fault. They could of been wearing flashy clothes, rude and ignorant, their personality or just been the victim of bad luck. Colombia was amazing and I would reccommend the country. I didn’t have any issues. The people are amazing and everything is so beautiful.
Murder Capital is comdemming a nation based on heresy and rumor. How the statistics are obtained is in its self biased. How can you condemm a nation you have never been to. The population of an area also has a huge impact on the amount of crime.
I also believe that Murder Capitals statistics are flawed. Most crime statistics are based on data that is supplied by police. They are unable to accurately account for the amount of unreported crime. How is Darfur not on any list. The country suffered over two million displaced persons. That in its self is a huge crime. As well inorder to decide upon the most dangerous cities, one would have to decide what form of crime is important. Is just murder relevant or should we include abuse and pickpocketing as well.
how about making a list from places you’ve actually have visited and experienced rather from biased info from the internet?
Cd.Juarez, Ch.MX january 2009 alone doubled the death toll in Iraq in that same month, 2008: 1,400
2009: 2,200
2010: currently close to 600
btw i LIVE in CD. Juarez, so im not jst pulling numbers out of my a%@
I know you’re correct, Jesse. I follow the news about Juarez.
The situation in Ciudad Juarez is certainly dire, but it is the direct result of an ongoing gang war to take over the control of the most important border pass.
While many innocents do die, most of the dead are gangsters offing each other.
I went on this site to figure out just what cities were a little too high in crime for an older traveller. Instead I get a lot of internet pushing and shoving, cursing and swearing like low lifes.
To say I should go to a country before I consider how dangerous it is, is ridiculous. Although data gathering is subjective, I am quite sure there is a world organization that takes information and puts it to-gether in a comprehensible and intelligent manner. Talking about Darfur, or Baghdad is also ridiculous. How many tourists are packing to go to Darfur? However, I would like to consider some historical places in Columbia, or American cities such as New Orleans or San Francisco. I feel relatively safe walking by myself at night in Toronto or Vancouver, but that doesn’t mean they’re without crime. They are just not overly dangerous for outsiders. I travelled, as a woman, for three weeks by myself, staying in hostels, through Ireland and never once felt the slightest concern. I want to know where the chance of a lone travellor being killed, or even robbed, is just too high to risk it. Of course, where there are drug wars going on a sensible person is not going to visit. Also, I know Mexico does not report everything,or when acouple is murdered they blame two middle aged female school teachers from Canada rather admitting they had an employee with a criminal history who took off the day of the murders. Many things get distorted or twisted. A city that is safe to-day could be the territory of dueling gangs the next year, changing it altogether.
Some of the people who have come on here are a little unhinged themselves I think.
Hi, Candycanuck, yes, everybody has a lot of opinons about this. I have traveled a lot of places in the world, but many of those places, I would not go about by myself at night. I think you have to look up specfic places to find out about them.
Oh please. The most dangerous cities of the world are in India, Pakistan and China, especially if you are a girl.
The way they killed off their first born female babies are well documented. A report I read say statistically there are 85 millions less girls as compared to boys in these countries.
Colombia, South Africa and Brazil in comparison are very safe countries.
I am South african and have lived both in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The crime in Johannesburg is not a joke, and anyone travelling there needs to be careful,and don’t carry anything you don’t want to loose on your person, as you never know! That doesn’t mean that something will happen, you just need to cautious. I have family members and friends which have been victims in hijackings, muggings, attempted murders and murders. People live in houses surrounded by bars and electric fencing, well the ones who can afford it, which pretty much makes you feel like you like in a mini jail. White people are rather paranoid about the crime and are almost expecting something to happen to them all the time, it’s a main topic of conversation on any given day. I have been to Guatemala city, and it looks just like Johannesburg. Lots of shopping malls, expensive cars,electric fencing and upmarket areas, but in a blink you’re in poor area that the government just seems to have forgotten, there is a clear distinction between rich and poor just as in many other big cities, like Bogota, Rio,Mexico City etc. So i’d say they’re all pretty much the same as far as danger goes.
Crime is not terrible in Cape Town, just don’t do any hikes alone. Watch the small children who beg, they are often the ones who slip your wallet out of your pocket.
I would also like to add that i have travelled quite extensively around the world, i never felt threatened in India, men like to speak and touch foreign women, but they are basically harmless. Infact i never felt any fear in Asian country at all. The most scared i felt was in Valpariso in Chile where we were almost mugged by 7 young men, whilst walking around an area we shouldn’t not been in. and again in the south of Colombia(on the road from Popoyan to St. Augustin) when we were in a road block organised by FARC, which turned out to be just a 2 hour long speech on why they’re against the government and what they want to do for people to make their lives better.The whole thing was rather peaceful, they were trying not to scare anyone. (THis never happens, 99.9% of people who visit colombia never see the FARC). South America can be dangerous in bigger cities, but in the small towns and villages they’re pretty safe, people are very friendly and helpful, and seem to be just happy that you are visiting their country.
So i feel that as long as you do some research and don’t go into parts of cities where people tell you not to, you’ll be fine. And try blend in with the locals, and don’t carry a big camera around your neck!! Do as the locals do and try dress like them, leave the hiking clothes and boots FOR HIKES!!!
I just came back from Johannesburg. It deserves its fame to be the most dangerous city of the world. It is very bad.
I live in Cape Town, SOuth Africa and can honestly say, bias aside, that it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. From white sand beaches, to table mountain, to the vineyards, to the townships (where if you actually look at the people there as real human beings, one would actually see how friendly they are).
In my entire life, I have not been mugged once in this city. I will not deny that crime is around, but honestly, its only in certain areas and even when in those areas, if you look confident in what you are doing, nothing will happen.
The main reason why murder statistics in the city are high is because of gang violence, which involves one gangster killing another gangster and this happens in remote parts of the city. Im not saying that this is fine, but as a tourist in the city, you will barely notice any signs of this.
So can everybody in the entire world just come visit Cape Town and find out why I love it so much.
The world Cup is a good time to come, but Cape Town and the rest of South Africa will still be here long after the world cup is gone.
Simon, I agree, Cape Town is a beautiful city and one of my favorite places in the world!
what the hell is wrong with all these ignorant comments?
does any one here not read the news!? Cd. Juarez is becoming one of the most dangerous cities in the world!! you all think new york and los angeles is bad? i live in el paso too and trust me everyone i know is coming back from juarez and moving out. well those that are still alive. i went over there a while ago. everyone is scared to go out anymore!!! its horrible. everyone is basically dying. there arent even half as many people as there were back then
I travelled in Ciudad Juarez in the 90s, and I’m not what happened to this city now. There live very nice people, very sociable and funny. It’s very easy to be friend with them and I have been corresponding with them many years after.
But I remember how the problems of violence was already a sensitive issue at the time. At that time, there was the problem of femicide. Thousands of young women working where found murdered and raped in the desert, the body where very disabled. The police and the government of Mexico never tried to find the guilty. Maybe it’s was the cartels of drugs the did it, and this country is so corrupted and don’t respect the rights of the women, that I think I would less afraid to live in Saudi Arabia.
But the peoples of ciudad Juarez don’t wanted to talk about it, or they minimize or deny problems. Some of them said that it’s falses histories invented by the medias of USA, just to be racist. They expected it to become very serious and be personally involved, to admit that the problems in cd Juarez are trues.
The mexicans are very, very PROUD.
Even when things go wrong or in the worst neighborhoods, the mexicans are PROUD. They are PROUD to be from ciudad Juarez, from Neza, Iztapalapa, Tepito and all the crappy places. They do not accept criticism. And they hate the “gringos” (the mexicans are very racists to).
So, when I read the colombians here, I’m sure that it’s the same mentality. The same way to deny the truth because they are PROUD, like all latinos are PROUD. Don’t believe them. New York is a very safe place now. It’s like Toronto.
im from a city in the north of mexico, the city is in serious trouble,because first of the drug war, but we have an increase in others forms of violence too,we dont deny that,but not all mexico is people who are into the drug bussiness,even those of the government involved in acts of corruption,we are tired of all those things, but unfortunately,we can do little,against the unthinkable wealth and power of the drug cartels.as i said theres people that love our country,trying to make things better,who love our family and push hard everyday to get a better life for us all in the country. we dont hate gringos,we respect gringos and look at them as people from who we can learn a lot of good things.I have friends in the US, fine people who, like we do, are struggling everyday to build a better future for us and those who come after us. with respect, jose.
i like most that have written had the mindset that anywhere you go there is danger, so when i set off on my trip to Colombia more precisely medellin, colombia i was pretty care free specially since i am latin american and come from dominican republic which isnt that safe. my trip to colombia changed my mind completely. colombia is very breath taking much to see and do and very full of culture but crime is insane.i have been to L.A. i have been to N.Y. never in my life have i been soo scared to walk around at night. seriously it is no joke. while i was there i personally witnessed a murder and saw two dead bodies in a taxi a day later. it didnt bother me too much because we have the same time of gang violence here in the U.S. too. but one day we were at a well reputed hot dog stand in the good part of medellin and had to leave abruptly because some native Colombians warned us that the guy who just arrived is a drug trafficker and apparently was looking at us in a manor that they knew only led to trouble, we left immediately ignoring the whistling and the attempts to get our attention by the proposed drug trafficker. the problem with medellin colombia is that u face danger from many different places: delinquent civilians, cartel members and drug traffickers, gang members, guerrilla and corrupt government officials. i agree with most that posted that as long as u have common sense and use extra precaution u will be ok. u dont have to fear the guerrillas they are no where in sight unless u venture out into the jungle and if u do ur an idiot and u deserve it. but by no means is it safe. i loved my trip…as i said very beautiful much to see but nothing can replace the peace and tranquility that u have in the u.s. main difference really in the u.s. unless u are involved in a gang or drugs u will not be a victim of a shooting. it saddens me alot to see such a beautiful country with soo much to offer yet its the bad people in colombia that keep it from being appreciated. interesting note, there are some really nice malls in medellin and there are a couple really nice ones that are sitting empty with no stores a local told me that its because they build the malls with drug money and thats how they money launder over there.
a few travel tips…dont carry ur passport with u, carry a copy of it and keep it hidden only as a last resort. dont act like a tourist, never take a taxi off the street call the taxi company and ask for one. dont walk around at night specially not by urself, never carry alot of money on u but carry enough to have something to give someone if they do try and rob u, when using intra-city buses make sure u know their schedule and know when the last bus comes back from where your going, be friendly if u have a mean demeanor and try to intimidate people u might run across someone harder than u which wont result good for ur health, dont poke ur head in other peoples business dont discuss religion or politics and stay away from political gatherings, dont wear alot of jewelry or things that may show people u have money.
its worth going to visit colombia, just remember my travel tips better safe than sorry. go enjoy the country mind ur own business see the sites, meet the women, eat the food and take alot of pictures.
who the hell put manila in the phillipiens on the list that city is the nicest place i have ever been to and the filipinos are the nicest people in the world im guesing that was a mistake
Whoever says that Johannesburg in South Africa, or any other South African cities for that matter, is the most dangerous city in the world, is talking crap.
I am a Mexican national and have been living in Johannesburg for 10 years, and this is supposedly number two in the list of most dangerous cities. Nothing has ever happened to me, my friends or my family. I can even drive around alone at night, and will be safe as long as I avoid the slums and make sure that I am not being followed.
I do so regularly because I work shifts, and nothing has ever happened to me.
If I went back to my home town 9Mexico City), I would never be able to do this.
Yes, you do have to be careful, and avoid ‘flashing your cash” by driving an expensive car and wearing tons of expensive jewellery. But South Africa is not unique in this sense.
Whoever is saying that Johannesburg is the most dangerous city in the world, is obviiously a disgruntled white South African who doen’t appreciate their beautiful country and is looking for an excuse to immigrate. White people here have a tendency to think that all the black people want to do is kill all the white people. White people here need to realise that this is a great misconception, and that black people have better things to do with their lives. White peole must stop being so self-centred and thinking that they are the centre of the universe, and learn to live with other people.
Lastly, whoever says that Johannesburg is the most dangerous city in the world, has not been to Juarez in Mexico, or Mexicali. They have NO IDEA what real danger is.
for all u people that think colombia is scary, !@##$$%^& u!!!!! colombia is very safe , safer then ny or la. ooohhhh and for all of u that spell it columbia ,its COLOMBIA.F U POLAAR BEAR
Wow am I tired of hearing that Johannesburg is so dangerous… I have lived here for 30 years, worked, driven a car, partied, picnicked, shopped, gone to galleries, museums, or just walked on a saturday morning with an old friend.
If it was as dangerous as you make it out to be none of us would be here? Do you seriously think that we are trapped here wishing we could move to another city or country? With my qualifications and work experience I could live in any city in the world, but I CHOOSE to live in Johannesburg.
Of course you have to be careful, avoid cretin areas like Hillbrow ect, but lets face it, thats most big cities in the world now. We are certainly not the safest in the world but the way we are made out to sound you would think there are bullets whizzing past our heads all day and night while murderers and rapists wait around every corner…. seriously?
When I travel I always make a point of talking to local people asking them which is the safest way to get around, what areas to avoid ect. When you come and visit out incredibly vibrant, culturally rich city, do the same. Dont ask the travel agents, really, what do they know if they have not been there themselves.
I have met so many foreigners over the last 2 weeks (World Cup, yes, here in out TERRIBLY dangerous country), every second one was told by their travel agent to stay in Sandton shopping mall or Rosebank shopping mall? Come all this way to hangout in malls? After being here a few days and talking to the locals they realised how absurd that idea was and started to venture out, we have only heard good things since. Time after time we are hearing tourists say how incredible this country is, how friendly the people are, and how they cannot believe how international media slams it so.
Thank God for the World Cup, its given us hope that the world may actually see us for what we are, not what the media & statistics make us out to be. As Simon said (thank you Simon) we will be here long after the World Cup, because we CHOOSE to be here.
Something I would like to leave you with:
One of the main reasons dangerous cities develop because there are not enough jobs. Millions of jobs are created though international tourism. Spreading fear like this stops international travel and kills our jobs, creating crime and a dangerous city. Dont comment until you have given it a chance, a chance that is not so saturated with sensationalist media and fear. It kills OUR peoples jobs.
The problem here is that many people get very upset and defensive when hearing about their home countries. We all need to be more realistic then nationalist. I am from Brazil and I can assure that many cities in Brazil are in fact really dangerous. But that doesn’t mean if you visit or live in some of these cities, something will happened to you. You just need to be more careful and aware. I have never visited Colombia but we all know that some of its cities are in fact dangerous and nobody should deny. I think there is danger pretty much in every city but the degree of danger is very different. I am just a bit surprise that Mexico City, considered one of the most violent cities in the world, did not make the list. I have wonderful friends from Mexico City who has told me that Mexico City is in fact dangerous. Today, danger is everywhere.
London in one word go, is one of the most dangerous cities in the world and probably the most dangerous city in Europe at the moment.
There is a knife attack every 52 minutes. 6000 Royal mail postman got attacked b Pit Bulls in 2009, over 1000 dangerous dogs seized last year and the toll is rising, 3 guide dogs for the blind get killed or attacked by Pit Bulls and Staffs. This doesnt even include other crimes. There is post code gang war, meaning if anyone happens to be on the wrong turf you could easily get killed especially in SE and East end London. The government and Police have been useless in acting so the problem just escalates.
COLOMBIA is extremely dangerous. Don’t go there people! We had to buy security guards for our friends wedding.
Their drug money built the entire city of Miami to what it is now.
Colombian women are materialistic and fake. They look for men here in Miami just to get their citizenship. All they want is money, but don’t want to work for it!
Colombians are LIARS! They think their country is the greatest yet thrive to live in America. Their in denial if they think their country is not dangerous.
YOU COLOMBIANS NEED TO ALL GO BACK TO YOUR COUNTRY! GET OUT! idiots
Many of you people seem to not understand statistics.
The fact that YOU didn’t experience any crime, means absolutely zero to whether a statistic is true or not.
Crime in South Africa is real bad. The world cup provided a temporary relief for it, but wait for the after effects and the economic reality will hit us. Me and my wife had been robbed at gunpoint in our little town of Sedgefield. The criminals are targeting the rural areas.
Detroit is pretty badd….
lol @ G.. Get help buddy.
Im from Europe and the last year I went backpacking w my friends for a long time in Latin America, nearly 10 months. We started in Argentina and visited pretty much every country on the way up except Brasil. Chile’s capital city wasnt that exciting as its a big modern city looking pretty much like lots of cities in Europe. We traveled by bus all the time, and it was a gr8 experience.. although i gotta say taking bus in Bolivia isnt recommendable.. We stayed long periods in each country but no country did we like so much as Colombia, we all decided to stay there the longest time we could before we had to go back. It was just amazing, its great how one country can have so many different landscapes and atmospheres. But the people were the best part, they would show us around, talk to us and invite us to so many things. that country is like being in a movie, i just loved it and i will deff go back as soon as i can.. none of us got mugged, kidnapped nor did we have a bad experience at all in all 3 months we stayed there. i really cnt agree with those hate comments from some of you about colombia, cus that was the best time of my life.