What’s the most dangerous city in the world? Statista data speaks for itself: Africa and America dominate the top spots.
What are the most dangerous cities in the world? When we hear about urban safety, we often think of our metropolises and how, in recent years, crime control has become more stringent. Cities like London, Paris, Rome and Naples are notoriously not perceived positively in this regard, especially among those who live there or visit them frequently.
Yet, no European city is so poor as to be ranked among the world’s most dangerous cities. In fact, unfortunately, those at the bottom of these special analyses are those countries experiencing profound crises in terms of social tensions, housing stress, poverty, and more or less deep-rooted cultural conflicts. Thus, among the most dangerous cities collected by Statista, we find cities in Africa and America (both North and South), some with a sort of "centuries-old tradition" that is ill-suited to any scenario of development and improvement.
Here, then, is the ranking of the 10 most dangerous cities in the world according to 2025 data, with South Africa taking the lead among nations.
The most dangerous cities in the world by crime rate
As mentioned, to identify the most critical centers in terms of security and crime, we rely on authoritative data from Statista, the well-known German portal that collects authoritative sources on general topics such as economics, politics, and the market. In this sense, Statista’s analysis is objective: it examines the broad crime rate (Crime Rate), which includes crimes such as theft, robbery, homicide, and assault.
And this is where a "new and unexpected" global player emerges. What is the most dangerous city in the world?
The most dangerous city in the world is not in Latin America, but in South Africa: it’s Pietermaritzburg, with a crime rate of 82 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Here, then, is the new top ten updated to 2025, based on the Crime Index in line with the 2025 Statista analysis.
| Location | City | State | Crime Index (per 100,000 inhabitants) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pietermaritzburg | South Africa | 82 |
| 2 | Pretoria | South Africa | 81.8 |
| 3 | Caracas | Venezuela | 81.5 |
| 4 | Port Moresby | Papua New Guinea | 81.2 |
| 5 | Johannesburg | South Africa | 80.8 |
| 6 | Durban | South Africa | 80.6 |
| 7 | San Pedro Sula | Honduras | 79.7 |
| 8 | Port Elizabeth | South Africa | 78.1 |
| 9 | Memphis | Tennessee, United States | 77.4 |
| 10 | Salvador | Brazil | 76.7 |
South Africa and Latin America among the most dangerous places in the world
Overall, the analysis is clear: South Africa dominates this particular statistic. Of the ten urban centers with the highest crime rates globally, five are located in the African country (excluding, it should be noted, nations in a state of war or open conflict).
This scenario is closely linked to internal problems: South Africa is grappling with extremely high levels of inequality, a high crime rate, and, last but not least, the hardships caused by constant power outages, factors that damage the economy and push a growing number of people into unemployment and poverty—the perfect breeding ground for conflict.
Despite the shift in focus, South America remains a hotbed of violence. Indeed, when looking at the homicide rate, Latin America still dominates the ranking of the most dangerous countries due to violence fueled by drug trafficking, arms trafficking, and ruthless gang wars.
Original article published on Money.it Italy. Original title: Le 10 città più pericolose al mondo, la classifica aggiornata
