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 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.

South Africa crime rate per 100K population for 2021 was 41.87, a 23.26% increase from 2020.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>South Africa crime rate per 100K population for 2020 was <strong>33.96</strong>, a <strong>7.48% decline</strong> from 2019.</li>
<li>South Africa crime rate per 100K population for 2019 was <strong>36.71</strong>, a <strong>0.14% increase</strong> from 2018.</li>
<li>South Africa crime rate per 100K population for 2018 was <strong>36.66</strong>, a <strong>2.11% increase</strong> from 2017.</li>
</ul>Intentional homicides are estimates of unlawful homicides purposely inflicted as a result of domestic disputes, interpersonal violence, violent conflicts over land resources, intergang violence over turf or control, and predatory violence and killing by armed groups. Intentional homicide does not include all intentional killing; the difference is usually in the organization of the killing. Individuals or small groups usually commit homicide, whereas killing in armed conflict is usually committed by fairly cohesive groups of up to several hundred members and is thus usually excluded.

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.

In 2024, Colima in Mexico ranked as the world's most dangerous city with a homicide rate of 140 per 100,000 inhabitants. Seven of the 10 cities with the highest murder rates worldwide are found in Mexico. The list does not include countries where war and conflict exist. Latin America dominates murder statistics Except for Mandela Bay, all the cities on the list are found in Latin America. Latin America also dominate 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. Crime in South Africa Mandela Bay in South Africa is the only city outside Latin America among the 10 most dangerous cities worldwide. 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.

In FY 2024, Harare in the Western Cape province of South Africa had the highest number of carjackings, with 385 recorded incidences. This accounts for around two percent of the total number of carjackings in the observed period. Nyanga (Western Cape) followed with 338 reports.

As of the fiscal year 2023/2024, the total number of contact crimes in South Africa amounted to ******* cases. This represents an increase of around *** percent from the previous year. The category with the highest number of criminal incidences was common assault, with ******* reported cases. Moreover, attempted murder saw the largest percentage increase at **** percent.

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 FY 2022/2023, the suburb of Johannesburg Central in the Gauteng province of South Africa had the highest number of contact crime recorded incidents, with ***** reports. Nyanga (Western Cape) followed with ***** reports. Combining the number of incidents in all ** hot-spot areas accounts for around eight percent of the total number of contact crimes in the observed period.

The average for 2017 based on 79 countries was 105 robberies per 100,000 people. The highest value was in Costa Rica: 1587 robberies per 100,000 people and the lowest value was in Oman: 1 robberies per 100,000 people. The indicator is available from 2003 to 2017. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Between 2021 and 2023, support for same-sex marriage declined in 14 out of 23 surveyed countries worldwide. The major drops were seen in Canada and Germany, where the share of respondents agreeing with same-sex marriage went down six percentage points. Still, over 60 percent of respondents in those two countries supported it.

The way to legalization

As of 2021, 30 countries have legalized same-sex marriages, most of them located in Western Europe. Switzerland was the latest to do so after a referendum, while the second to last was Costa Rica, as the only Central American country. While most countries have legalized same-sex marriage through legislation, in South Africa and Taiwan, this was enacted via courts' mandates. Taiwan and South Africa are the first and so far only countries in their continent to have legalized same-sex marriage.

Hostility and criminalization

The support and legalization of same-sex marriages is growing, and the acceptance of homosexuality is slowly but steadily increasing in more hostile countries. In Nigeria, for instance, homosexuality is a crime punishable with the death penalty. Despite a small increase, only seven percent of people believe that homosexuality should be accepted by society. Africa, Asia, and the Middle East are still the most dangerous world regions for homosexuals. In fact, 71 countries still criminalize homosexuality, and most of them are located in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

In FY 2022/2023, the township of Inanda in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa had the highest number of recorded sexual offenses, with *** reports. This accounts for less than *** percent of all sexual offense cases reported in South Africa during the observed period. The town of Lusikisiki followed, with *** cases recorded in the Eastern Cape province.

As of the 2021/2022 fiscal year, a total of 608,059 contact crimes were recorded in South Africa. Common assault contributed to around 170,000 cases, followed by assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm, accounting for almost 163,000 offenses. In comparison, murder and attempted murder were ranked low on the list. Taking a wider view, 25,204 murders and 22,132 attempted murders average around 69 murders and almost 61 attempted murders per day.

As of the 2023/2024 fiscal year, ****** women in South Africa were reported as victims of selected contact crimes. Assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm had the highest number of incidences, with ****** cases. This accounts for approximately ** percent of the overall number of assaults GBH registered.

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.

As of the 2023/2024 fiscal year, only a fraction of the total number of murder and sexual offense cases reported to the South African police was brought to trial by the National Prosecuting Authority. Of the ***** sexual offense cases that went to trial, ***** ended up with a secure conviction.

As of the 2023/2024 fiscal year, the number of convictions in relation to the amount of cases was relatively high. However, when compared to the total number of contact crimes committed in the same period, sexual offense reports amounted to ******, but only ***** of these cases ended up in court, and just ***** of these cases resulted in a conviction.

As of the 2023/2024 fiscal year, a total of 11,240 children in South Africa were reported as victims of a select few contact crimes. Around 69 percent of these crimes committed against children were categorized under assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm, with 7,771 reports. Attempted murder followed, which contributed around 16 percent to the summation of the selected contact crimes.

As of the 2022/2023 fiscal year, common assault was the most frequently reported form of domestic violence-related crimes among men and women, with ****** and ****** cases, respectively. Assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm followed, whereby ****** women and ***** men were subjected to domestic violence. Domestic violence-related common assault accounted for around ** percent of the overall number of common assault reports in the same period.

In FY 2023, there were 1,996 truck hijackings in South Africa, which was higher compared to the previous year. Over the observed period, truck hijackings have more than doubled since FY 2012, which recorded 821 incidences. Between 2016 and 2020, the number of incidents only had slight fluctuations.