For some vacationers, the lure of dangerous locals is too much to resist. That still doesn’t mean visiting one of the cities on this list is a good idea. Some of them are mostly dangerous for permanent residents exclusively and may be fine for tourists but all the same, I think I’ll be skipping out on visiting any of the 50 most dangerous places in the world on my next vacation. Before we begin, a note about how these cities were chosen: I just went by the numbers, basically. There are lots of the places in the world that are dangerous but the level of danger can depend on a variety of factors so I decided it would be better to just go by the murder rate. The figures for each city are based on the murder rate per capita in 2011 and therefore all statistics are current as of 2011, the most current statistics available. Let’s get started.
image source: nytimes.com
50: Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Murder Rate: 30.50
Population: 3, 888, 180
Homicides: 1, 186
49: Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Murder Rate: 30.54
Population: 3, 888, 180
Homicides: 1, 186
48: Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Murder Rate: 31.40
Population: 620, 961
Homicides: 195
47: Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
Murder Rate: 31.42
Population: 630, 174
Homicides: 198
46: Panama, Panama
Murder Rate: 31.70
Population: 1, 713, 070
Homicides: 543
45: Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Murder Rate: 34.40
Population: 4,883,721
Homicides: 1, 680
44: Mosul, Ninawa, Iraq
Murder Rate: 35.33
Population: 1, 800, 000
Homicides: 636
43: St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Murder Rate: 35.39
Population: 319, 294
Homicides: 113
42: Barranquilla, Colombia
Murder Rate: 35.86
Population: 1, 182, 493
Homicides: 424
41: Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Murder Rate: 36.25
Population: 1, 050, 930
Homicides: 381
image source: habitatlac.wordpress.com
40: Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil
Murder Rate: 37.17
Population: 1, 302, 001
Homicides: 484
39: Curitiba, Brazil
Murder Rate: 38.09
Population: 1, 890, 272
Homicides: 720
38: Monterrey, Mexico
Murder Rate: 40.38
Population: 4, 160, 339
Homicides: 1, 680
37: Fortaleza, Brazil
Murder Rate: 42.90
Population: 3, 529, 138
Homicides: 1, 514
36: Macapá, Brazil
Murder Rate: 45.08
Population: 499, 116
Homicides: 225
35: Pereira, Colombia
Murder Rate: 46.14
Population: 383, 623
Homicides: 177
34: Cape Town, South Africa
Murder Rate: 46.15
Population: 3, 497, 097
Homicides: 1, 614
33: Metropolitan Kingston, Jamaica
Murder Rate: 47.02
Population: 1, 169, 808
Homicides: 550
32: Recife, Brazil
Murder Rate: 48.23
Population: 3, 717, 640
Homicides: 1, 793
31: Cuiabá, Brazil
Murder Rate: 48.32
Population: 3, 717, 640
Homicides: 1, 793
image source: crimescenecleanupdetroit.com
30: Detroit, Michigan, United States
Murder Rate: 48.47
Population: 713, 777
Homicides: 346
29: João Pessoa, Brazil
Murder Rate: 48.64
Population: 1, 198, 675
Homicides: 583
28: Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
Murder Rate: 49.02
Population: 389, 674
Homicides: 191
27: São Luis, Brazil
Murder Rate: 50.85
Population: 1, 014, 837
Homicides: 516
26: Manaus, Brazil
Murder Rate: 51.21
Population: 2, 106, 866
Homicides: 1, 079
25: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Murder Rate: 52.60
Population: 427, 789
Homicides: 225
24: Barquisimeto, Venezuela
Murder Rate: 55.41
Population: 1, 120, 718
Homicides: 621
23: Cúcuta, Colombia
Murder Rate: 56.08
Population: 597, 385
Homicides: 335
22: Salvador, Brazil
Murder Rate: 56.98
Population: 3, 574, 804
Homicides: 2, 037
21: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Murder Rate: 57.88
Population: 343, 829
Homicides: 199
image source: thestar.com
20: San Salvador, El Salvador
Murder Rate: 58.63
Population: 2, 290, 790
Homicides: 1, 343
19: Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela
Murder Rate: 58.91
Population: 940, 477
Homicides: 554
18: Veracruz, Mexico
Murder Rate: 59.94
Population: 697, 414
Homicides: 418
17: Vitoria, Brazil
Murder Rate: 67.82
Population: 1, 685, 384
Homicides: 1, 143
16: Metropolitan Tepic, Mexico
Murder Rate: 68.05
Population: 439, 362
Homicides: 299
15: Mazatlán, Mexico
Murder Rate: 68.94
Population: 445, 343
Homicides: 307
14: Medellín, Colombia
Murder Rate: 70.32
Population: 2, 309, 446
Homicides: 1, 624
13: Culiacán, Mexico
Murder Rate: 74.46
Population: 871, 620
Homicides: 649
12: Guatemala City, Guatemala
Murder Rate: 74.58
Population: 3, 014, 060
Homicides: 2, 248
11: Cali, Colombia
Murder Rate: 77.90
Population: 2, 207, 994
Homicides: 1, 720
image source: pt.wikipedia.org
10: Belém, Brazil
Murder Rate: 78.04
Population: 2, 100, 319
Homicides: 1, 639
09: Durango, Mexico
Murder Rate: 79.88
Population: 593, 389
Homicides: 474
08: Chihuahua, Mexico
Murder Rate: 82.96
Population: 831, 693
Homicides: 690
07: Metropolitan Torreón, Mexico
Murder Rate: 87.75
Population: 1, 128, 152
Homicides: 990
06: Caracas, Venezuela
Murder Rate: 98.71
Population: 3, 205, 463
Homicides: 3, 164
05: Distrito Central, Honduras
Murder Rate: 99.69
Population: 1, 126, 534
Homicides: 1, 123
04: Acapulco, Mexico
Murder Rate: 127.92
Population: 804, 412
Homicides: 1, 029
03: Maceió, Brazil
Murder Rate: 135.26
Population: 1, 156, 278
Homicides: 1, 564
02: Juárez, Mexico
Murder Rate: 147.77
Population: 1, 335, 890
Homicides: 1, 974
image source: Wikipedia.com
01: San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Murder Rate: 158.87
Population: 719, 447
Homicides: 1, 143
