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.
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
