– Over 400 000 people murdered in South Africa since 1994:
That South Africa has a high murder rate is hardly a surprise, but when the numbers are laid out so prominently, it really hits home.
A report released by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) on Thursday revealed that around 445 835 murders had been recorded in the country between April 1994 and March 2016.
In 1994/95 financial year, an average number of 71 people were killed per day. In 2015/16, that number was at 51 per day.
The report used data from the South African police service and shows that for every 100 000 people in the country, 34 were murdered. The deadliest year on record in democratic South Africa was in 1995/96 with 26 877 being killed, according to the report.
Crime analyst Kerwin Lebone said that the country holds a much higher murder rate compared to other countries.
It is almost 29 times higher than Australia‚ 30 times higher than the United Kingdom and 45 times higher than Germany.
“South Africans live with horrific levels of violent crime. While the murder rate has fallen since 1994‚ at 31.9 per 100 000 people‚ it remains one of the highest in the world‚” said Lebone.
In the 2015/16 financial year, almost 900 children were murdered.
According to TimesLive, Lebone said South Africa’s murder crisis is so serious that some South Africans are more likely to be murdered than the residents of many terror-affected countries.
Previous reports have shown that the Western Province is one of the worst affected, with gang violence on the Cape Flats having a terrible impact on residents, with young children often getting caught in the crossfire.
H/t reader kevin a.
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