Reflecting similar data in previous years, Latin American cities account for the vast majority of the most violent cities – with 43 of the 50 cities coming from the region – led by San Salvador in El Salvador.<\/p>\n
Only two non-Latin American countries feature in the list: the United States, and South Africa.<\/p>\n
In 2016’s top 50, South Africa only had one city listed – Cape Town – but in 2017, two more cities have made the cut: Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City, both in the Eastern Cape.<\/p>\n
Using the latest available date (from 2016), Cape Town was ranked as the 14th most violent city in the world, behind ‘the usual suspects’ from El Salvador, Mexico and Honduras.<\/p>\n
Looking at The Economist’s visual data, however, it is clear that Cape Town outranks all of the listed cities in terms of the sheer number of murders.<\/p>\n
Cape Town still leads in South Africa with a murder rate of around 61 murders per 100,000 people, according to the data, with Nelson Mandela Bay following with a rate of around 53 murders per 100,000 people, and Buffalo City with a rate of 45 murders per 100,000 people.<\/p>\n Cape Town’s high murder rate is closely linked to high levels of gang activity in and around the city – while the Eastern Cape’s violence problem is linked to overpopulation and poverty in the affected provinces.<\/p>\n South Africa’s high murder rate in these cities puts the country squarely in the top 10 most violent nations on earth, according to the data.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Murders-640x644.png\")
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