In 2024, South Africa ranked first in the crime index among African countries, with a score of **** index points. Nigeria was the second most dangerous country on the continent, obtaining **** points. The index evaluates the overall crime levels in a specific country. Several African countries scored between ** and ** points, indicating high crime levels. Escalating concerns: South Africans worry about crime and violence In 2024, South Africa had one of the highest proportions of respondents expressing concerns about crime and violence compared to other countries participating in an online study. Throughout the period examined, the percentage of participants worried about violence peaked at ** percent in March 2023. The escalating levels of violent crime currently witnessed in the country has caused this significant rise in concerned respondents. South Africa's organized crime landscape In 2023, South Africa ranked the ************* in organized crime compared to its African counterparts. The continent's most prevalent organized criminal activity was **************************************. Moreover, from a regional perspective, Southern African countries had the lowest organized crime rate.

In 2024, Rwanda was the safest country in Africa. It had a score of roughly **** points in the safety index, making it the African nation with the lowest crime incidents and the only country with high safety levels - over 60 index points. In several other countries in Africa, the level of safety was considered moderate (40 to 60 index points).

In 2024, Pietermaritzburg in South Africa ranked first in the crime index among African cities, scoring **** index points. The six most dangerous areas on the continent were South African cities. Furthermore, Pretoria and Johannesburg followed, with a score of **** and **** points, respectively. The index estimates the overall level of crime in a specific territory. According to the score, crime levels are classified as very high (over 80), high (60-80), moderate (40-60), low (20-40), and very low (below 20). Contact crimes are common in South Africa Contact crimes in South Africa include violent crimes such as murder, attempted murder, and sexual offenses, as well as common assault and robbery. In fiscal year 2022/2023, the suburb of Johannesburg Central in the Gauteng province of South Africa had the highest number of contact crime incidents. Common assault was the main contributing type of offense to the overall number of contact crimes. Household robberies peak in certain months In South Africa, June, July, and December experienced the highest number of household robberies in 2023. June and July are the months that provide the most hours of darkness, thus allowing criminals more time to break in and enter homes without being detected easily. In December, most South Africans decide to go away on holiday, leaving their homes at risk for a potential break-in. On the other hand, only around ** percent of households affected by robbery reported it to the police in the fiscal year 2022/2023.

Several violent extremist organizations are active in West Africa, causing battles, explosions, violence against civilians, and counter-terrorism actions. In this region, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Mali are the most impacted countries by extremist and terror events. Among the deadliest groups, there are Boko Haram, JNIM, ISIS in the Greater Sahara, and ISIS-West Africa. Boko Haram is based in Nigeria, a jihadist terrorist organization. This group is also the most active violent extremist organization in Cameroon. In Mali, the al-Qaeda affiliate JNIM has conducted various deadly attacks. Moreover, an ongoing war started in Mali after a coup d'état in 2012 has caused a thousand fatalities, has displaced people, and caused high levels of chronic malnutrition and poverty.

As of 2024, Libya was the North African country with the highest crime index, achieving **** index points. The index measures the level of crime in a given country or city. Algeria followed with a score of **** (moderate level). In contrast, Tunisia registered the lowest crime index in North Africa in that year.

This statistic shows the most dangerous destinations worldwide in 2015. During the survey, 15 percent of respondents said they thought Africa was the most dangerous travel destination in the world.

Burkina Faso is one of the countries with the highest terrorism threat levels in the world. In 2023, the terrorism index in this West-African country stood at around 8.6, the highest in Africa. Furthermore, it recorded the largest number of deaths related to terrorism worldwide, followed by Mali, Somalia, and Pakistan, with some of the highest terrorism threat indexes in the world. Jihadist fundamentalism in Africa In Africa, several militant groups are active, leading to attacks on both civilian and military targets. In West Africa, among the deadliest groups, there are Boko Haram, JNIM, ISIS in the Greater Sahara, and ISIS-West Africa. The militant group of Al-Shabaab, a jihadist fundamentalist group as well, was responsible for 89 percent of all terror-related deaths in Somalia in 2021. Somalia has the third-highest number of terror-related deaths in the world and ranked second in Africa regarding threat level. Boko Haram Boko Haram, an affiliate of the Islamic State, has been responsible for thousands of deaths in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. Nigeria is the country most affected by the terrorist group's attacks. The terrorist groups aim to establish the Islamic State in Nigeria and to cancel Western education and influence in the country. Among the news on attacks mostly present in the media, the kidnapping of 276 female students from a secondary school in Borno in 2014 received a global response. As of January 2021, 112 girls were still missing, and six students were believed to have died. However, every month dozens of deaths are attributed to the brutality of Boko Haram.

In 2025, Pietermaritzburg in South Africa ranked as the world's most dangerous city with a crime rate of 82 per 100,000 inhabitants. Five of the 10 cities with the highest crime rates worldwide are found in South Africa. The list does not include countries where war and conflict exist. South Africa dominates crime statistics When looking at crime rates, among the 10 most dangerous cities in the world, half of them are found in South Africa. The country is struggling with extremely high levels of inequality, and is struggling with high levels of crime and power outages, harming the country's economy and driving more people into unemployment and poverty. Crime in Latin America On the other hand, when looking at murder rates, Latin America dominates the list of the world's most dangerous countries. Violence in Latin America is caused in great part by drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and gang wars.

In 2024, South Africa had a crime index of 75.4, which is to be considered high. However, this was one of the lowest indexes recorded in the country since 2017. Over the observed period, the value continuously fluctuated between 75 and 77. South Africa has the highest crime index in Africa and ranks as the fifth most dangerous country globally according to the same index.

Turks and Caicos Islands saw a murder rate of ***** per 100,000 inhabitants, making it the most dangerous country for this kind of crime worldwide as of 2024. Interestingly, El Salvador, which long had the highest global homicide rates, has dropped out of the top 29 after a high number of gang members have been incarcerated. Meanwhile, Colima in Mexico was the most dangerous city for murders. Violent conflicts worldwide Notably, these figures do not include deaths that resulted from war or a violent conflict. While there is a persistent number of conflicts worldwide, resulting casualties are not considered murders. Partially due to this reason, homicide rates in Latin America are higher than those in Afghanistan or Syria. A different definition of murder in these circumstances could change the rate significantly in some countries. Causes of death Also, noteworthy is that murders are usually not random events. In the United States, the circumstances of murders are most commonly arguments, followed by narcotics incidents and robberies. Additionally, murders are not a leading cause of death. Heart diseases, strokes and cancer pose a greater threat to life than violent crime.

In the years between 2010 and 2021, the African country that experienced the highest number of violent protests was Somalia, with approximately ***** cases of such protests. Somalia has been experiencing political unrest as the state attempted to hold its first democratic elections and restore control over rebel-held areas. Conversely, the country with the lowest levels of violent protests was São Tomé and Príncipe, reporting *** demonstration that turned violent.

The deadliest state-based conflict in Africa in 2023 was the civil war in Sudan between the Sudanese government and the rebel group Rapid Support Forces (RSF). It is estimated that more than 5,000 people were killed in the conflict that year. By comparison, nearly 3,900 were killed in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia in the conflict between the Government of Somalia and Al-Shabaab. The war in Sudan has seen millions of people displaced, and many face hunger and starvation. Rising terrorism in Africa In recent years, some African states have been suffering from increasing terrorist activity due to a weak state and a poor security apparatus. For instance, Burkina Faso and Mali made up two of the four countries ranked highest on the global terrorism index in 2023, and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the number of terrorist attacks rose from less than 200 in 2018 to around 900 in 2021. Many of the state-based conflicts on the continent are between a state and a terrorist organization. Increasing number of coups The poor state infrastructure in some African states has led to a surge in coup d'états on the continent since 2020, especially in Western Africa, where there have been successful coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea, and Gabon in recent years. Worldwide, Thailand is the country with the highest number of successful coup d'états since the Second World War.

In the third quarter of 2023/2024, contact crime in South Africa continues to increase except for reports relating to sexual offenses, which recorded 15,284 cases. This is a slight decrease from 15,545 recorded in the previous year. Assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm accounted for the majority of contact crime reports in the third quarter of 2023/2024, whereas assault was the most commonly reported contact crime in the same quarter in 2022/2023.

The most common country of origin of refugees in Nigeria is Cameroon. As of August 2021, about 67 thousand refugees in Nigeria came from this country. Cameroonians flee from violence ongoing between security forces and armed groups. In the last three years, the number of refugees from Cameroon arriving in Nigeria has increased considerably.

Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria

With almost two thousand kilometers in length, Cameroon's longest border is with Nigeria. The majority of Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria are in the states of Cross River, Benue, and Taraba, the states at the borders with Cameroon. The territories the two countries are also highly impacted by the terrorism of Boko Haram. The violence in this region continues to push people out of their homes and seek safety in neighboring countries.

Deadly migration routes

The migration routes taken by African migrants are among the deadliest in the world. In the attempt to reach other African or European countries, more than ten thousand migrants lost their lives on the African continent between 2014 and 2021. Some of the most dangerous routes include the West African Atlantic route, from West Africa to the Canary Islands, and the Mediterranean routes, from North Africa to South Europe. The latter registers the highest number in the word of deaths and missing people who try to migrate.

Since 1970, the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. is the deadliest terrorist attack worldwide, claiming almost 3,000 lives. Moreover, except for the Musha Church massacre during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, all of the 10 most lethal terrorist attacks between 1970 and January 2024 happened after 2001. ISIL stood behind four of these.

Afghanistan was the country most ridden by terrorism

In 2022, Afghanistan topped the Global Terrorism Index, which ranks terrorist activity across the world. While the rise and fall of the Islamic State and its caliphate in Syria and Iraq received much attention during the 2010s, there has been increased terrorist activity in other parts of the world in recent years, particularly in some African countries such as Burkina Faso, Somalia, and Mali.

Taliban was the most active terrorist organization

In 2021, Taliban, which mainly operates in Afghanistan, was the most active terrorist organization that year, being responsible for nearly 800 attacks. The attacks resulted in nearly 4,500 fatalities. Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021 after the NATO-mission in the country ended that year.

According to the Global Peace Index 2025, Russia was the least peaceful country in the world, with an index value of 3.44. The Eastern European country has been involved in the war against Ukraine since February 2022, when Russian troops invaded eastern Ukrainian territory. Ukraine had the second-highest index value, at 3.43. Before the Russian invasion, the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine had been the center of a civil war between the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatist forces since 2014. The Russia-Ukraine war While most of the countries on the list of the least peaceful countries are found in Africa and Asia, the Russia-Ukraine war, together with the war in Gaza, has probably received the most attention, at least in Western countries. Many Western countries responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by implementing sanctions on Russia. Conflicts around the world Though one might get the impression that the number of conflicts worldwide is increasing, it actually declined somewhat since 2013. Today, most of the conflicts are defined as violent crises, whereas 16 of the 21 conflicts defined as wars are ongoing in Sub-Saharan Africa.

According to monthly surveys conducted from January 2023 to December 2024, the share of the respondents in South Africa worried about crime and violence in the country was one of the highest among the countries taking part in the online study. During the period under review, the share of participants concerned about violence and crime in South Africa fluctuated between ** percent, observed in January 2023, and a peak of ** percent, registered in March 2023. This notable increase in concerned respondents is likely due to the escalating levels of violent crime the country is experiencing.

In 2023, Toyota was the most common brand of car that hijackers targeted in South Africa. Close to ** percent of all hijacked vehicles were reported as Toyota, followed by Volkswagen, which contributed around ** percent of all hijacking cases. These brands are also the most popular cars among South African motorists. In general, hijackers tend to target Toyota Hilux, Fortuner, and Etios ranges. Among the Volkswagen brand of motor vehicles, the VW Polo coupe, hatchback, and sedans are the most frequently stolen.   Carjacking incidences The number of carjackings in South Africa has made notable increases over the last few years, with the fiscal year 2023/2024 reaching a record high of almost ** thousand. Harare in the Western Cape had the highest incidences of carjackings in the country in the same fiscal year. Crime in South Africa According to the crime index ranking, South Africa was the most dangerous country in Africa in 2024. Globally, it has had one of the highest murder rates, registering around ** homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. A survey conducted in December in the same period showed that around ** percent of South Africans were worried about crime and violence as a result of the rising levels of violent crime in the country.

Sudan's ongoing civil war has resulted in a devastating toll across various states, with the West Darfur state experiencing the highest number of fatalities at ***** in 2023. The conflict, which began on April 15 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has since escalated into a civil war, causing widespread destruction and displacement throughout the country. Widespread impact and regional consequences Since 2013, annual fatalities due to conflict in Sudan have drastically increased in 2023 to 2024. The conflict's impact extended beyond Sudan's borders, forcing over *** million people to seek refuge in neighboring countries. Egypt has become the primary host, sheltering more than *** million Sudanese refugees, while Chad has taken in around *******. Escalating violence in the region The situation in Sudan has contributed to its ranking as the African country with the highest level of ongoing conflicts. This assessment considers factors such as conflict deadliness, danger to civilians, geographic diffusion, and armed group fragmentation. The violence in Sudan is part of a broader pattern of instability in the region, as Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger grapple with the threat of Boko Haram. Nigeria is the country most affected by the terrorist group's attacks, which has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country. Additionally, these violent attacks have displaced communities and disrupted social structures, as evidenced by the notorious 2014 kidnapping of *** schoolgirls in Borno, an incident that garnered global attention.

In FY 2023, there was a total of ****** carjackings in South Africa. This presents an increase of ***** incidences of carjackings since the previous year, which recorded ****** reports. Over the observed period, FY 2023 recorded the highest number of carjacking crimes in the country, while FY 2012 had the lowest number of occurrences.