World's 50 most dangerous cities revealed

Research looked at cities which were not at war and were populated by more than 300,000 people 

Will Worley
Wednesday 27 January 2016 17:34 GMT
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Members of the Barrio 18 gang are rounded up in San Salvador in May. An estimated 10,000 gang members are in the country’s jails
Members of the Barrio 18 gang are rounded up in San Salvador in May. An estimated 10,000 gang members are in the country’s jails

Venezuelan capital Caracas has been revealed as the most violent city in the world - with 119.87 homicides for every 100,000 residents in 2015.

Published by the Mexico Citizens Council for Public Security, new research listed the 50 cities across the globe that suffer the most violence.

With 41 cities on the list, Latin America is home to the most on the planet, while Brazil alone has 21.

The highest increase in violence since 2014 was in San Salvador, El Salvador. The murder rate there increased by 81% in just one year, from 61.21 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2014 to 111.03 in 2015. The Central American country of just six million people has seen gang-related violence push death tolls to similar levels as seen during the country’s civil war in the 1980s.

While the majority of cities are in developing or semi-developed countries, four cities were in the United States: Detroit, Baltimore, St Louis and New Orleans.

However, some improvements were noted in Juarez, Mexico and Colombia's Medellin, where murder rates have fallen dramatically since the 1990s.

The list did not take into account of war zones or places with fewer than 300,000 residents.

The full list is as follows:

50. Obregón, Mexico had 28.29 homicides per 100,000 residents.

49. Maracaibo, Venezuela had 28.85 homicides per 100,000 residents.

48. Macapá, Brazil had 30.25 homicides per 100,000 residents.

47. Johannesburg, South Africa had 30.31 homicides per 100,000 residents.

46. Victoria, Mexico had 30.50 homicides per 100,000 residents.

45. Pereira, Colombia had 32.58 homicides per 100,000 residents.

44. Curitiba, Brazil had 34.71 homicides per 100,000 residents.

43. Porto Alegre, Brazil had 34.73 homicides per 100,000 residents.

42. Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa had 35.85 homicides per 100,000 residents.

41. Durban, South Africa had 35.93 homicides per 100,000 residents.

40. Campina Grande, Brazil had 36.04 homicides per 100,000 residents.

39. Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil had 36.16 homicides per 100,000 residents.

38. Aracaju, Brazil had 37.7 homicides per 100,000 residents.

37. Recife, Brazil had 38.12 homicides per 100,000 residents.

36. Vitória da Conquista, Brazil had 38.46 homicides per 100,000 residents.

35. Tijuana, Mexico had 39.09 homicides per 100,000 residents.

34. Gran Barcelona, Venezuela had 40.08 homicides per 100,000 residents.

33. Kingston, Jamaica had 41.14 homicides per 100,000 residents.

32. New Orleans, Louisiana, United States had 41.44 homicides per 100,000 residents.

31. Vitoria, Brazil had 41.99 homicides per 100,000 residents.

30. Teresina, Brazil had 42.64 homicides per 100,000 residents.

29. Goiânia y Aparecida de Goiânia, Brazil has 43.38 homicides per 100,000 residents.

28. Detroit, Michigan, United States had 43.89 homicides per 100,000 residents.

27. Feira de Santana, Brazil had 45.5 homicides per 100,000 residents.

26. Belém, Brazil had 45.83 homicides per 100,000 residents.

25. Guatemala City, Guatemala had 47.17 homicides per 100,000 residents.

24. Cumaná, Venezuela had 47.77 homicides per 100,000 residents.

23. Manaus, Brazil had 47.87 homicides per 100,000 residents.

22. Cuiabá, Brazil had 48.52 homicides per 100,000 residents.

21. São Luís, Brazil had 53.05 homicides per 100,000 residents.

20. Barquisimeto, Venezuela had 54.96 homicides per 100,000 residents.

19. Baltimore, Maryland, United States had 54.98 homicides per 100,000 residents.

18. Maceio, Brazil had 55.63 homicides per 100,000 residents.

17. Culiacan, Mexico had 56.09 homicides per 100,000 residents.

16. João Pessoa, Brazil had 58.40 homicides per 100,000 residents.

15. St. Louis, Missouri, United States had 59.23 homicides per 100,000 residents.

14. Salvador, Brazil had 60.63 homicides per 100,000 residents.

13. Natal, Brazil had 60.66 homicides per 100,000 residents.

12. Fortaleza, Brazil had 60.77 homicides per 100,000 residents.

11. Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela had 62.33 homicides per 100,000 residents.

10. Cali, Colombia had 64.27 homicides per 100,000 residents.

9. Cape Town, South Africa had 65.53 homicides per 100,000 residents.

8. Palmira, Colombia had 70.88 homicides per 100,000 residents.

7. Valencia, Venezuela had 72.31 homicides per 100,000 residents.

6. Distrito Central, Honduras had 73.51 homicides per 100,000 residents.

5. Maturin, Venezuela had 86.45 homicides per 100,000 residents.

4. Acapulco, Mexico had 104.73 homicides per 100,000 residents.

3. San Salvador, El Salvador had 108.54 homicides per 100,000 residents.

2. San Pedro Sula, Honduras had 111.03 homicides per 100,000 residents.

1. Caracas, Venezuela had 119.87 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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