The 2026 rankings for the world’s most crime-ridden cities have been revealed. Unfortunately, six South African cities appear within the top 20.
Numbeo, a crowdsourced online database, recently released its latest international Crime Index. In it, they listed 400 cities based on user-contributed perceptions of crime and safety. These were assigned a rank, a crime index score and a safety index score.
CRIME INDEX: WHICH SOUTH AFRICAN CITIES MADE THE TOP 20?
Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal’s provincial capital, topped the entire list. It obtained a crime index score of 82.8 and a low safety score of 12.2. The city’s known for its high levels of crime, from robbery to murder.
In second place, Pretoria is close behind Pietermaritzburg with a crime index score of 81.8 and a low safety score of 18.2.
Johannesburg (80.8 / 19.2) and Durban (80.4 / 19.6) came in fifth and sixth place, respectively. Gqeberha (78.6 / 21.4) sits in eighth place, while Cape Town (73.7 / 26.3) trails behind in 16th place.
It wasn’t long ago that Numbeo shared its list of the world’s most dangerous countries, which saw South Africa obtaining a fifth-place ranking. With the release of this Crime Index, it worryingly shows why Mzansi ranked so high on that list.
WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCED THESE RANKINGS?
According to Numbeo, they made use of the following indices to compile this list:
- General perception of crime levels.
- Perceived safety during daylight and nighttime.
- Concerns about specific crimes (mugging, robbery, car theft, physical attacks, public harassment and bias-motivated incidents).
- Property crime severity (burglary, theft, vandalism).
- Violent crime severity (assault, homicide, sexual offences).
CRIME INDEX: THE TOP 20
Here’s a look at the top 20 most dangerous cities, according to Numbeo:
| RANK | CITY | CRIME INDEX | SAFETY INDEX |
| 1 | Pietermaritzburg, South Africa | 82.8 | 17.2 |
| 2 | Pretoria, South Africa | 81.8 | 18.2 |
| 3 | Caracas, Venezuela | 81.4 | 18.6 |
| 4 | Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | 81.3 | 18.7 |
| 5 | Johannesburg, South Africa | 80.8 | 19.2 |
| 6 | Durban, South Africa | 80.4 | 19.6 |
| 7 | San Pedro Sula, Honduras | 79.4 | 20.6 |
| 8 | Port Elizabeth, South Africa | 78.6 | 21.4 |
| 9 | Memphis, TN, United States | 78.5 | 21.5 |
| 10 | Salvador, Brazil | 76.5 | 23.5 |
| 11 | Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago | 76.4 | 23.6 |
| 12 | Fortaleza, Brazil | 75.9 | 24.1 |
| 13 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 75.2 | 24.8 |
| 14 | Recife, Brazil | 74.9 | 25.1 |
| 15 | Guayaquil, Ecuador | 74.4 | 25.6 |
| 16 | Cape Town, South Africa | 73.7 | 26.3 |
| 17 | Detroit, MI, United States | 72.8 | 27.2 |
| 18 | Cali, Colombia | 72.0 | 28.0 |
| 19 | Baltimore, MD, United States | 72.0 | 28.0 |
| 20 | Tijuana, Mexico | 71.5 | 28.5 |
Do you agree with this list? Is it a fair reflection of South Africa and its cities?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
