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Lifestyle

28th Jan 2016

How many of the world’s 50 most violent cities have you been to?

Conor Heneghan

Brazil doesn’t sound like a very safe place to visit.

The Mexico Citizens Council for Public Security have published their annual list of the world’s 50 most violent cities and it doesn’t make pleasant reading for anyone visiting South America any time soon.

The list is based on the number of homicides in cities of more than 300,000 residents not affected by war. Caracas was determined to be the world’s most violent city, with 119.87 homicides for every 100,000 residents in 2015.

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41 of the cities in the list are located in Latin America. It doesn’t look good from Brazil’s point of view, with 21 cities appearing in the top 50, although none of those made it into the top ten.

Gang and drug-related violence are believed to responsible for a large proportion of homicides in Latin American countries, although there has been a dramatic fall in the number of homicides in cities such as Medellin in Colombia and Juarez in Mexico in recent years.

Food for thought if you’re planning holidays in the near future.

The 50 most violent cities in the world (50-1)

Obregón, Mexico

Maracaibo, Venezuela

Macapá, Brazil

Johannesburg, South Africa

Victoria, Mexico

Pereira, Colombia

Curitiba, Brazil

Porto Alegre, Brazil

Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa

Durban, South Africa

Campina Grande, Brazil

Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil

Aracaju, Brazil

Recife, Brazil

Vitória da Conquista, Brazil

Tijuana, Mexico

Gran Barcelona, Venezuela

Kingston, Jamaica

New Orleans, Louisiana

Vitoria, Brazil

Teresina, Brazil

Goiânia y Aparecida de Goiânia, Brazil

Detroit, Michigan, United States

Feira de Santana, Brazil

Belém, Brazil

Guatemala City, Guatemala

Cumaná, Venezuela

Manaus, Brazil

Cuiabá, Brazil

São Luís, Brazil

Barquisimeto, Venezuela

Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Maceio, Brazil

Culiacan, Mexico

João Pessoa, Brazil

St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Salvador, Brazil

Natal, Brazil

Fortaleza, Brazil

Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela

10. Cali, Colombia

9. Cape Town, South Africa

8. Palmira, Colombia

7. Valencia, Venezuela

6. Distrito Central, Honduras

5. Maturin, Venezuela

4. Acapulco, Mexico

3. San Salvador, El Salvador

2. San Pedro Sula, Honduras

1. Caracas, Venezuela