Crime rate in the world has been on an ever rising high since decades; crimes like robbery, aggravated assault, rape and murder have been widespread making some areas unbearable to live in. even the most developed countries otherwise have a shocking crime rate, and one example is of the United States.
Being a first-world country, the crime rate in the US is at a 47.70 in the crime rate index, ranking 50th in the world. The percentage is 5.30%.
What makes a city/country dangerous?
There are several factors that make a country or city dangerous to live in and the primary index is always the crime rate.
Crimes like murder, robbery, kidnapping, rape, arson, aggravated assault, sexual assault, trafficking etc. are only some of the examples of the most common crimes prevalent in the world today.
Wherever these crimes are the highest, the area becomes unsafe for men, women and children to live in. This is the index that decides how dangerous a city/country is.
What is the Most Dangerous City in the United States?
According to research, this is a list of the most dangerous cities in the United States:
- Anchorage, Alaska
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Wichita, Kansas
- Lubbock, Texas
- Detroit-Dearborn-Livonia, Michigan
- Spokane-Spokane Valley, Washington
- Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana
- Corpus Christi, Texas
- Mobile, Alabama
| 2020 rank | Metro area | Metro population | Violent crime per 1,000 | Property crime per 1,000 | 2019 rank |
| National average | 888,542 | 3.7 | 22.0 | ||
| 1 | Anchorage, AK | 309,917 | 12.6 | 50.2 | New |
| 2 | Albuquerque, NM | 915,468 | 10.9 | 45.3 | 8 |
| 3 | Memphis, TN | 1,343,002 | 11.4 | 42.7 | 4 |
| 4 | Wichita, KS | 638,135 | 8.2 | 42.3 | 43 |
| 5 | Lubbock, TX | 319,795 | 8.3 | 39.6 | New |
| 6 | Detroit-Dearborn-Livonia, MI | 1,748,511 | 10.0 | 27.1 | 2 |
| 7 | Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | 558,298 | 4.4 | 43.8 | New |
| 8 | Shreveport-Bossier City, LA | 397,965 | 6.0 | 37.4 | New |
| 9 | Corpus Christi, TX | 430,731 | 7.0 | 33.7 | 32 |
| 10 | Mobile, AL | 430,335 | 5.3 | 38.9 | New |
Note: Sample figures have been extracted online, courtesy of SafeWise.
Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities in the World
1. Tijuana, Mexico
- Homicides per 100,000 in 2018: 138
- Homicides in 2018: 2,640
- Population: 1,909,424
.2. Acapulco, Mexico
- Homicides per 100,000 in 2018: 111
- Homicides in 2018: 948
- Population: 857,883
3. Caracas, Venezuela
- Homicides per 100,000 in 2018: 100
- Homicides in 2018: 2,980
- Population: 2,980,492
4. Ciudad Victoria, Mexico
- Homicides per 100,000 in 2018: 86
- Homicides in 2018: 314
- Population: 365,089
5. Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
- Homicides per 100,000 in 2018: 86
- Homicides in 2018: 1,251
- Population: 1,462,133
6. Irapuato, Mexico
- Homicides per 100,000 in 2018: 81
- Homicides in 2018: 473
- Population: 580,808
7. Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela
- Homicides per 100,000 in 2018: 78
- Homicides in 2018: 645
- Population: 823,722
8. Natal, Brazil
- Homicides per 100,000 in 2018: 75
- Homicides in 2018: 1,185
- Population: 1,587,055
9. Fortaleza, Brazil
- Homicides per 100,000 in 2018: 69
- Homicides in 2018: 2,724
- Population: 3,939,460
10. Cape Town, South Africa
- Homicides per 100,000 in 2018: 66
- Homicides in 2018: 2,868
- Population: 4,322,031
Crime Rate Comparison by City
Here are 60 cities of the world compared with each other based on the crime and safety index, as evaluated by Numbeo.
| Rank | City | Crime Index | Safety Index |
| 1 | Caracas, Venezuela | 84.57 | 15.43 |
| 2 | Pretoria, South Africa | 81.89 | 18.11 |
| 3 | San Pedro Sula, Honduras | 81.35 | 18.65 |
| 4 | Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | 81.05 | 18.95 |
| 5 | Pietermaritzburg, South Africa | 80.93 | 19.07 |
| 6 | Durban, South Africa | 80.80 | 19.20 |
| 7 | Johannesburg, South Africa | 80.31 | 19.69 |
| 8 | Fortaleza, Brazil | 78.51 | 21.49 |
| 9 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 77.42 | 22.58 |
| 10 | Kabul, Afghanistan | 77.22 | 22.78 |
| 11 | Port Elizabeth, South Africa | 76.85 | 23.15 |
| 12 | Recife, Brazil | 76.81 | 23.19 |
| 13 | Porto Alegre, Brazil | 75.79 | 24.21 |
| 14 | Port of Spain, Trinidad And Tobago | 75.70 | 24.30 |
| 15 | Memphis, TN, United States | 75.61 | 24.39 |
| 16 | Salvador, Brazil | 75.60 | 24.40 |
| 17 | Baltimore, MD, United States | 74.75 | 25.25 |
| 18 | Detroit, MI, United States | 73.79 | 26.21 |
| 19 | Cape Town, South Africa | 73.67 | 26.33 |
| 20 | Klang, Malaysia | 71.51 | 28.49 |
| 21 | San Salvador, El Salvador | 71.00 | 29.00 |
| 22 | São Paulo, Brazil | 70.67 | 29.33 |
| 23 | Saint Louis, MO, United States | 70.63 | 29.37 |
| 24 | Albuquerque, NM, United States | 69.95 | 30.05 |
| 25 | Windhoek, Namibia | 69.40 | 30.60 |
| 26 | Rosario, Argentina | 69.38 | 30.62 |
| 27 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 69.12 | 30.88 |
| 28 | Kingston, Jamaica | 69.05 | 30.95 |
| 29 | Mexico City, Mexico | 68.80 | 31.20 |
| 30 | Lima, Peru | 68.78 | 31.22 |
| 31 | Almaty, Kazakhstan | 67.95 | 32.05 |
| 32 | Damascus, Syria | 67.39 | 32.61 |
| 33 | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | 67.25 | 32.75 |
| 34 | Milwaukee, WI, United States | 67.19 | 32.81 |
| 35 | Campinas, Brazil | 66.92 | 33.08 |
| 36 | Tijuana, Mexico | 65.49 | 34.51 |
| 37 | Baghdad, Iraq | 65.49 | 34.51 |
| 38 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 65.35 | 34.65 |
| 39 | Guayaquil, Ecuador | 65.34 | 34.66 |
| 40 | Belo Horizonte, Brazil | 65.03 | 34.97 |
| 41 | Tripoli, Libya | 64.59 | 35.41 |
| 42 | Manila, Philippines | 64.56 | 35.44 |
| 43 | New Orleans, LA, United States | 64.49 | 35.51 |
| 44 | Dhaka, Bangladesh | 64.40 | 35.60 |
| 45 | Male, Maldives | 64.40 | 35.60 |
| 46 | Chicago, IL, United States | 64.24 | 35.76 |
| 47 | Lagos, Nigeria | 64.23 | 35.77 |
| 48 | Oakland, CA, United States | 64.23 | 35.77 |
| 49 | Cleveland, OH, United States | 64.10 | 35.90 |
| 50 | Houston, TX, United States | 64.06 | 35.94 |
| 51 | Anchorage, AK, United States | 63.34 | 36.66 |
| 52 | Curitiba, Brazil | 63.16 | 36.84 |
| 53 | Puebla, Mexico | 63.13 | 36.87 |
| 54 | Quezon City, Philippines | 62.78 | 37.22 |
| 55 | Guadalajara, Mexico | 62.66 | 37.34 |
| 56 | Guatemala City, Guatemala | 62.64 | 37.36 |
| 57 | Atlanta, GA, United States | 62.64 | 37.36 |
| 58 | Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | 62.48 | 37.52 |
| 59 | Brasilia, Brazil | 61.74 | 38.26 |
| 60 | Catania, Italy | 61.58 | 38.42 |
Conclusion
Not just the United States, but there are several other countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia that have been identified as the most dangerous countries in the world, with cities that have the highest crime rate.
There has always been debate about how to control such rising crimes that occur often due to poverty, unemployment or hatred towards another in cases of aggravated assault. The justice system needs to be strengthened to the point where punishment for such crimes is severe and where every criminal is caught and punished. This is the only way the crime rate of cities and countries can be controlled to make it safe for people to live in.
