The Most Dangerous Cities in the World

Recently, a series of roadside bombs killed 11 people and injured dozens more in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. The attacks were part of coordinated assaults by insurgent elements around the country that killed 32 people and remind us how violent the area remains.

Research consulting firm Mercer has released its 2011 Quality of Living Report, which includes ranking of the cities according to the level of personal safety. Baghdad is the most violent city on the list. Based on Mercer’s list, 24/7 Wall St. has examined the 10 most dangerous cities in the world.

All of these areas suffer from great political instability that has led to politically motivated violence. This climate of instability also has created an ideal breeding ground for crime motivated by profit. Whether the violence is criminal or political in nature, it perpetuates socioeconomic conditions that keep those nations’ economies depressed.

Read: The Most Dangerous Cities in the World

Nearly all the countries of the cities on the list have experienced a violent coup or national war in recent past. In Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, a brief but severe military conflict with Russia in 2008 led to long-term economic problems and the increased availability of firearms.

In many of these cities, the central national violent conflict is ongoing. In Yemen, long-reigning president Saleh has just stepped down, but a large group of citizens are demanding his execution. As a result, firefights between protesters and government troops are ongoing.

For all the cities on the list, the U.S. Department of State has urged Americans to avoid the country altogether and in many cases suggested citizens who remain there leave.

To illustrate the violent conditions in each city, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed travel warnings issued by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs. These reports detail the type of crime or violence in the area, including whether Americans are being targeted. We also included the socioeconomic conditions for each country to reflect how violence and depressed living conditions are almost always interconnected. We referred to adult literacy rates, adult mortality rates and the percentage of the population living on less than $1 per day, based on data from the United Nations. To demonstrate the impact that violence has on the economy, we obtained GDP per capita from the International Monetary Fund.

10. Conakry, Guinea Republic
> GDP per capita: $448.48 (14th lowest)
> Adult literacy rate: 29.5%
> Adult mortality rate per 1,000: 331
> Population living on < $1 per day: 69.8%

Conakry, a peninsula located on the western coast of Guinea, holds roughly a fifth of the entire nation’s population. Over the past two decades, significant growth in the city has led to overwhelming population density and infrastructure problems. Elections in 2010 led to protests and violent clashes between Guinea’s citizens and the military. According to the U.S. Department of State, the worst is over, but “there is residual potential for violence.” The State Department further warns that “While not specifically targeted, U.S. citizens have been victimized in the past. Motorists traveling outside of Conakry have encountered improvised checkpoint-barricades manned by persons in military uniforms who demand money and search through personal belongings, confiscating items of value.” Seventy percent Guinea citizens live on $1 per day and only 30% of adults are literate.

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9. Nairobi, Kenya
> GDP per capita: $807.50 (32nd lowest)
> Adult literacy rate: 73.6%
> Adult mortality rate per 1,000: 387
> Population living on < $1 per day: 19.7%

According to the UN, nearly 20% of the population of Kenya lives on less than $1 per day. The country has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, and GDP per capita is just over $800, compared to the estimated $46,860 in the U.S. While crime is high throughout the country, it is particularly bad in the capital city of Nairobi. Violent crimes, including carjacking, kidnapping and home invasion, occur regularly and are often fatal. According to the U.S. State Department, “In early 2007, two U.S. citizens were killed and one critically injured in two separate carjacking incidents. Nairobi averages about 10 vehicle hijackings per day and Kenyan authorities have limited capacity to deter and investigate such acts.” Nairobi also is known to be a hotbed for scams targeting tourists.

8. Sana’a, Yemen
> GDP per capita: $1,283 (47th lowest)
> Adult literacy rate: 37.1%
> Adult mortality rate per 1,000: 357
> Population living on < $1 per day: 17.5%

In September, the U.S. department of State issued a warning to U.S. citizens, urging them to not to travel to Yemen. Violent protests in the capital city of Sana’a have been going on for months to oust the country’s long-time president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Saleh has stepped down, but calls for him to be executed have led to continued violence between protesters and government forces. According to the State Department, extremely dangerous clashes are still occurring, and “may escalate without notice.” The Department also noted that Americans should flee the country “while commercial transportation is available.”

7. Tbilisi, Georgia
> GDP per capita: $2,629.44 (66th lowest)
> Adult literacy rate: n/a
> Adult mortality rate per 1,000: 150
> Population living on < $1 per day: 13.4%

While its condition do not compare to some of the countries in Africa, with an unemployment rate of 16.4% and a GDP per capita of $2,629, Georgia is one of the poorest countries in Europe. According to the State Department, the disparity in wealth between travelers and natives leads to the targeting of tourists for robbery and other crimes. Tbilisi, the nation’s capital, has one of the highest rates of these crimes. The State Department reports: “Many robberies and assaults have occurred in areas frequented by U.S. citizens and foreigners in Tbilisi, such as on side streets near Tbilisi’s city center. Firearms are readily available in Georgia and assailants may be armed with firearms or other weapons.”

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6. Karachi, Pakistan
> GDP per capita: $1,029.93
> Adult literacy rate: 42.7%
> Adult mortality rate per 1,000: 204
> Population living on < $1 per day: 22.6%

Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan, has been subject to continuing acts of terrorism from Al-Qaida and elements of the Taliban. In August, the U.S. Bureau of Consular Affair warned that the violence “poses a potential danger to U.S. citizens throughout Pakistan. Terrorists and their sympathizers regularly attack civilian, government, and foreign targets …” Karachi suffered from intermittent suicide bombings over the past several years, and an American child was kidnapped there last year as well.

5. Kinshasa, Democratic Rep. of the Congo
> GDP per capita: $185.96 (4th lowest)
> Adult literacy rate: 67.2%
> Adult mortality rate per 1,000: 357
> Population living on < $1 per day: 59.2%

The Democratic Republic of Congo is no stranger to violence and crime, as warring and aggressive bordering nations leave the country in a perpetual state of upheaval. GDP per capita in the DRC in 2010 was estimated to be just $186 per year, the fourth lowest in the world. More than one in three adults are expected to die before they reach the age of 60. According a travel warning issued in August by the Department of State, “Kinshasa has a critical crime threat, and U.S. citizens continue to be the victims of serious crimes, including armed robbery by groups posing as law enforcement officials in both urban and rural areas, especially after nightfall.” The state department also strongly suggests that travelers “avoid taking photos in public, especially of government buildings and the airport (which are viewed as places of national security), police stations, the presidential palace, border crossings, and along the river, since doing so may lead to arrest.”

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4. Bangui, Central African Republic
> GDP per capita: $429 (11th lowest)
> Adult literacy rate: 48.6%
> Adult mortality rate per 1,000: 456
> Population living on < $1 per day: 64.4%

In the Central African Republic, an estimated 45.6% of the country’s residents who reach the age of 15 die before they make it to 60. This is the 12th-worst recorded mortality rate in the world. A staggering 64.4% of the nation’s residents live on less than $1 each day. According to the Department of State, “Bangui [the capital city] suffers from elevated crime rates for both petty and violent crime, as well as particularly limited transport and medical options. CAR military and civilian security forces (and people posing as such) staff checkpoints throughout the city, frequently harassing international residents and visitors for bribes.”

3. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
> GDP per capita: $1,042.52 (41st lowest)
> Adult literacy rate: 48.7%
> Adult mortality rate per 1,000: 390
> Population living on < $1 per day: 20.4%

After former-president Laurent Gbagbo refused to give up power following his loss in the October, 2010 election, violence broke out in Côte d’Ivoire. Gbagbo has since been arrested and is set to go on trial at The Hague. However, according to the Department of State, “Although Abidjan [the largest city in the country] is considerably calmer since the arrest of former President Gbagbo, law and order have yet to return to all of Abidjan’s neighborhoods and some parts of the countryside.”

2. N’Djamena, Chad
> GDP per capita: $837.01 (34th lowest)
> Adult literacy rate: 12.2%
> Adult mortality rate per 1,000: 447
> Population living on < $1 per day: 58.7%

Just 12.2% of Chad’s population is literate, the third-worst rate in the world according to the UN. Also, 447 out of every 1,000 residents who reach the age of 15 will not make it to the age of 60. According to the Department of State, the capital city of N’Djamena is actually the safest place to be in the country. The fact that the city is still rated by Mercer as the second most dangerous city in the world is proof of how unsafe the country as a whole is. In June, the Bureau of Consular affairs issued a travel warning to the country, and has prohibited any government employees to travel outside of N’Djamena.

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1. Baghdad, Iraq
> GDP per capita: $2,531.15 (66th lowest)
> Adult literacy rate: 74.1%
> Adult mortality rate per 1,000: 291
> Population living on < $1 per day: n/a

Nearly nine years after the U.S. began combat operations in Iraq, violence continues to ravage the capital city of Baghdad. Intermittent suicide bombings, random gunfire, roadside bombs and other attacks still occur throughout the city. In the past two weeks, dozens of Iraqi civilians have been killed in separate events. With American troops set to completely depart the country within weeks, many are unsure whether Iraqi security forces can keep the region at even the current level of stability.

-Michael B. Sauter