Pietermaritzburg Ranked Most Dangerous City in the World, Four South African Cities in the Top Six
- The 2026 Numbeo Crime Index has ranked the most dangerous cities in the world, with South Africa featuring prominently
- Pietermaritzburg ranks as the world's most dangerous city, but weren't the only South African city in the top five of the rankings
- South Africans took to social media to share reactions to the release of the crime index and how the country performed on it
Source: Twitter
Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.
KWAZULU-NATAL - Pietermaritzburg has been ranked as the most dangerous city in the world.
The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) city has been listed as the most dangerous city according to the 2026 Numbeo Crime Index.
The index takes into account the general perception of crime levels, the perceived safety during daylight and nighttime, and concerns about specific crimes. It also considered property crime severity and violent crime severity. Numbeo's Crime Index is based on user-contributed perceptions and, therefore, statistics may differ from official government stats.
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Four South African cities rank in the top six
While Pietermaritzburg ranked as the world’s most dangerous city, it was not the only South African city in the top five.
Pietermaritzburg achieved a crime index of 82.8 and a safety index of 17.2. It's the second year in a row that Pietermaritzburg finished in top spot.
In second place was Pretoria, with a crime rate of 81.8 and a safety index of 18.2. Caracas in Venezuela was ranked the third most dangerous city, with an 81.4 crime index, while Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea ranked fourth with an 81.3 crime index.
Johannesburg took fifth spot, while Durban was ranked sixth. Johannesburg received a rating of 80.8, while Durban scored 80.4.
Source: Getty Images
Which other South African cities feature?
In the index, which contains 400 countries, two other South African cities made the list. Port Elizabeth took eighth spot with an index of 78.6, while Cape Town ranked 16. The Mother City scored a crime index of 73.7 and a safety index of 26.3.
All six South African cities finished higher than any other African city. Lagos in Nigeria was the next highest ranked African city, with a crime index of 68.8, followed by Windhoek, Namibia (67.6), Harare, Zimbabwe (60.7) and Nairobi, Kenya (59.4).
How did South Africans react to the news?
Social media users shared mixed reactions to the news that Pietermaritzburg was considered the most dangerous city in the world.
Zondi Sfiso said:
“Mmm, here I thought Cape Town was the most dangerous.”
Londiwe Thando Banda stated:
“I am not surprised with Pietermaritzburg right there at the top.”
Ian Roberts added:
“Without even looking, I know most of our cities will be on this list. What a mess, sadly.”
Edith Steyn agreed:
“Absolutely horrific.”
Marinda Cruywagen said:
“I do not know if it is the most dangerous, but it is the city with the least number of municipal resources. Just saying.”
TikTok users lists most dangerous cities in South Africa
Briefly News reported that a TikTok user shared a video ranking some of South Africa's cities based on their crime index scores.
Several major cities, including the capital and economic hubs, fell into the very unsafe category according to the data shared.
The video highlighted notable differences in crime perception across the country, sparking discussions about safety.
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Source: Briefly News
