The 50 most Dangerous Cities Showcase Latin America
A study of the world’s 50 most violent cities was just released and the findings are grim for Latin America, which appears 41 times on the list.
Thirty-three percent of global homicides occur in Latin America, despite the region accounting for only 8% of the world’s population.
Drug trafficking, gang wars, political instability, corruption and poverty prove a toxic cocktail for the region. Brazil, host of the 2016 Olympic Games, appears a shocking 21 times of the list, making it (according to this list) the most dangerous country in the world.
Although the results are almost entirely made up of cities in Latin America, it also features four cities in the United States: St Louis, Missouri, in 15th; Baltimore, Maryland, in 19th; Detroit, Michigan, in 28th; and New Orleans, Louisiana, in 32nd.
Mexico’s Citizens’ Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice released the findings of their annual study on January 23rd. The council’s ranking includes cities with a population greater than 300,000 and excludes cities where reliable data is unavailable as well as cities in combat zones (which explains why some cities you might expect to be represented here are not).
‘We make this ranking with the political objective of calling attention to the violence in the cities, particularly in Latin America, so that their governments are under pressure to improve their obligation to protect their citizens, to guarantee their right to public security,’ said Citizens’ Council in the report.
Ranked by the number of homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015, the top 50 most dangerous cities were listed as:
- Caracas, Venezuela – 119.87
- San Pedro Sula, Honduras – 111.03
- San Salvador, El Salvador – 108.54
- Acapulco, Mexico – 104.73
- Maturin, Venezuela – 86.45
- Distrito Central, Honduras – 73.51
- Valencia, Venezuela – 72.31
- Palmira, Colombia – 70.88
- Cape Town, South Africa – 65.53
- Cali, Colombia – 64.27
- Cuidad Guayana, Venezuela – 62.33
- Fortaleza, Brazil – 60.77
- Natal, Brazil – 60.66
- Salvador, Brazil – 60.63
- St Louis, Missouri, U.S – 59.23
- Joao Pessoa, Brazil – 58.40
- Culiacan, Mexico – 56.09
- Maceio, Brazil – 55.63
- Baltimore, Maryland, U.S – 54.98
- Barquisimeto, Venezuela – 54.96
- Sao Luis, Brazil – 53.05
- Cuiaba, Brazil – 48.52
- Manaus, Brazil – 47.87
- Cumana, Venezuela – 47.77
- Guatemala City, Guatemala – 47.17
- Belem, Brazil – 45.83
- Feira de Santana, Brazil – 45.5
- Detroit, Michigan, U.S – 43.89
- Goiania, Brazil – 43.38
- Teresina, Brazil – 42.64
- Vitoria, Brazil – 41.99
- New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S – 41.44
- Kingston, Jamaica – 41.14
- Gran Barcelona, Venezuela – 40.08
- Tijuana, Mexico – 39.09
- Vitoria da Conquista, Brazil – 38.46
- Recife, Brazil – 38.12
- Aracaju, Brazil – 37.7
- Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil – 36.16
- Campina Grande, Brazil – 36.04
- Durban, South Africa – 35.93
- Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa – 35.85
- Porto Alegre, Brazil – 34.73
- Curitiba, Brazil – 34.71
- Pereira, Colombia – 32.58
- Victoria, Mexico – 30.50
- Johannesburg, South Africa – 30.31
- Macapa, Brazil – 30.25
- Maracaibo, Venezuela – 28.85
- Obregon, Mexico – 28.29
