The Most Dangerous Cities In Africa

Africa is a continent known for its economic viability and other opportunities. Among all theseeconomic opportunities which attracts economists and tourists around the world,is also crime wave which tend to be increasingly hazardous in most renown city areas with most of these opportunities. We will rank the most violent and dangerous cities according valid research and statistics. They will be ranked from the least to the most dangerous.

The top six African cities with the highest crime wave include someSouth African cities, Inspired by the Numbeo’smulti-factorial analyseswhich takesinto accountevery happening in violentstricken areasin the world. In many cases, these cities relatively high danger levels are validated by their listing by theUS Overseas Security Advisory Council  (OSAC).

6. Lagos, Nigeria

With an estimated population of 21 million, Lagos is Nigeria’s largest city in Africa and one of the largest cities in the world. Crime levels are also very high. Numbeo gives the city a rating of 80.88 out of a possible crime score of 100. according OSAC, Lagos has a “critical” crime rating. Locals and expatriates alike living in Lagos are prone to muggings, armed robberies, home or business burglaries, carjackings, assaults, rapes, kidnappings, and extortion.

Armed robbers in the city are known to even climb up perimeter fences and subdue guards, and others have invaded waterfront compounds by way of boats. Criminals also target vehicle occupants in traffic, and break into stationary cars. Some of Lagos’ crime hot-spots are airport roads in the days or evenings, as well as banks and grocery stores. Street gangs dubbed “area boys” cause terror in the mainland of the city when they clash.

Lagos is also an e-mail scam hotbed, from where dubious cyber criminal prey on people under the pretension that they can receive huge compensation in return some time later after parting with some money by way of electronic transactions.

5. Durban, South Africa

Durban is a south African city, and the largest city in Kwa-Zulu-Natal Province in South Africa. It’s a coastal city that is popular with local and international tourists who annually number within the hundreds of thousands. Economically, the city hosts the biggest container and commodity port in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the OSAC. But crime and criminal-related deaths have been on the rise.

According to a 2014 report by the Mexican Citizens’ Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice, Durban City was 38th among the 50 most violent cities in the world. Homicides per 100,000 people stood at 34.5 in 2014, up from in 2013 when they were at 32 per 100,000. As of March 2016, Numbeo rated the crime in Durban at 87.89 out of a possible crime score of 100, indicating it as being very high.

Beyond Durban’s city limits, Kwa-Zulu-Natal province in 2015 was reported as the most dangerous province in South Africa. Taking personal precautions, like avoiding nighttime travel or walking alone, is recommended to avoid falling victim. Durban is the fifth city on the list of the most dangerous African Cities.

4. Johannesburg, South Africa

Johannesburg is South Africa’s largest city, with an estimated population of over 4 million people, and it’s also the capital of Gauteng province. Over theyears, the city has achieved notoriety for the high numbers of crime and rape cases seen there as well. Numbeo ranks crime levels in Johannesburg as being very high, achieving a 91.61 out of a possible crime score of 100 as of March 2016. Due to the many incidences of rape reported there, it has also been dubbed as the “World’s Rape Capital”.

Recently, Johannesburg has had xenophobic attacks springing up in the low income townships with frequency. In 2014-2015, according to Africa Check, the murder rate in Johannesburg per 100,000 was 28.2 people. Yet, according to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the average global homicide rate per 100,000 people was 6.2, less than a fourth of that seen in Johannesburg.

3 . Benghazi, Libya

Since the killing of former president Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the whole country, including the second largest city of Benghazi, has been engulfed in a civil war. The city is ever at risk of radical Islamic terrorist attacks. In September of 2012, the US Embassy in Libya was attacked by violent extremists, and 4 US government employees, the US Ambassador to Libya included, died in the chaos.

According to the OSAC, crime levels across the whole country are still rising. Incidences of carjackings, robberies, burglaries, and gun attacks are now more prevalent, largely due to the looting of government artillery that ensued in a mad scramble for economic and military gains after Gaddafi’s removal.

Sexual harassment of women is also rising, as well as petty and hardcore street crimes alike. Lybia and Benghazi in particular are not likely touristic for most people especially non Islamic people. All the above ills make it the third on the countdown.

2. Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

Pietermaritzburg is both the province’s second largest city (after Durban) and the capital of Kwa-Zulu-Natal Province in the nation of South Africa. It has very high crime levels, with a crime rating of 87.5 out of a possible crime score of 100, according to Numbeo as of January 2016. Armed robbery, sexual assault, arson, drug dealing, house break-ins, carjackings, and car theft are some crimes that are rife in Pietermaritzburg. In the 3 years leading up to 2015, crimes levels in the city rose significantly.

According to Crime Statistics South Africa, in 2015 there were 15,720 criminal incidences in the city. This was an increase on the previous years, as in 2014 there were 14,794 reported incidents of criminal activities, and in 2013 there were 13,596. When xenophobic attacks flare up elsewhere in South Africa, they also tend to quickly spread to Pietermaritzburg as well.

1. Rustenburg, South Africa

Rustenburg City is in the North West Province of South Africa. It has very high crime levels, and is rated at 85.71 out of a possible crime score of 100, according to a 2015 Numbeo report. Of all of the cities in the North West Province in 2015, Rustenburg had the highest total cases of criminal activities with 11,117 cases in 2015, according to Crime Statistics South Africa.

Household burglary, kidnapping, hijacking, and political violence are but some of the crimes that frequently occur in this city. According to South Africa Dialogue, street crimes and muggings are also high in Rustenburg, and caution is necessary each and everyday. At night, car break-ins are common, and it’s not advisable to leave one’s valuables inside a vehicle. When driving on the freeways at night, stops in undesignated areas make one an easy target for robbers, and hence it’s wise to avoid making them.

This makes Rustenburg the first on our countdown of the most violent cities in Africa.