Government

South Africa’s murder rate is 959% higher than the average G20 country

Staff Writer

 ·19 Nov 2025

South Africa’s murder rate of 45 people per 100,000 is more than ten times higher than the average murder rate of other G20 countries.

The G20 Summit is a hot topic in South Africa, as the country, which currently holds the presidency of the G20, will host the event.

High-level priorities for the 2025 G20 Summit include promoting inclusive economic growth, industrialisation, employment, and reducing inequality.

Delegates will discuss ensuring food security and harnessing Artificial Intelligence and innovation for sustainable development.

As the host, South Africa is also advocating for the development priorities of the African continent and the Global South.

This includes addressing debt sustainability and reform of the international financial architecture.

However, this is not what the G20 Summit made headlines for. Instead, it is about South Africa’s challenges and that some prominent world leaders will not attend.

United States President Donald Trump said no official U.S. Government representatives will attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit.

The United States President said it was “a total disgrace that the G20 Summit will be held in South Africa”.

“Afrikaners are being killed and slaughtered, and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated,” he said on social media.

“No United States government official will attend as long as these human rights abuses continue.”

Other top leaders, including China’s President Xi Jinping, Argentina’s President Javier Milei, and Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, will also not attend.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who is restricted from attending due to the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant, will also not be there.

Representatives from China, Russia, and Mexico will attend the summit in place of their leaders. The United States and Argentina are boycotting the event.

South Africa’s murder rate versus other G20 countries

Trump’s comments raise the question of whether South Africa’s murder rate is out of sync with the rest of the G20 countries.

The Group of Twenty (G20) comprises 19 countries and two regional bodies: the European Union and the African Union.

The G20 countries include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, and Japan.

Others are the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States.

South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world. This is frequently highlighted in discussions about the country’s social challenges.

The country’s intentional homicide rate is estimated to be around 45.2 per 100,000 people for the 2024/2025 financial year.

A disproportionately large number of murders occur in a small percentage of police station areas, particularly in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Western Cape.

Action Society said South Africa’s murder rate is higher than in some active war zones, including Gaza.

South Africa’s murder rate is much higher than that of any other G20 country, including Mexico and Brazil.

What is striking is that South Africa’s murder rate is 959% higher than the average G20 country, which sits at 4.27.

This data confirms that South Africa’s murder rate is out of sync with the majority of the G20 countries.