The City of Cape Town had the highest murder rate, followed by Nelson Mandela Bay, Durban, and Johannesburg. The four cities also made it into the list of 50 cities with the highest murder rates in the world in 2011.

For the aggravated robbery rate, Johannesburg topped the list followed by Nelson Mandela Bay, Durban, and Cape Town.

Murder is a social contact crime that often occurs between people who know one another such as relatives, friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and neighbours.

Aggravated robbery, which occurs mostly at random and from unknown people, includes subcategories such as carjacking and residential robbery; crimes which most South Africans are most fearful of.

There were six aggravated robbery cases for every murder in South Africa in 2010/11. The aggravated robbery-murder ratio was 15:1 in Johannesburg; 8:1 in both Durban and Nelson Mandela Bay; and 6:1 in Cape Town.

‘Given the types of crimes that most residents fear, many would consider Johannesburg to be the most feared city in South Africa,’ said Mr Kerwin Lebone of the Institute’s research department.