The South African Police Service has released the latest crime stats for 2017/18, revealing an unsettling increase in the number of murders taking place in South Africa over the last year.

According to the SAPS, there were 20,336 murders in South Africa between April 2017 and March 2018, showing a 7% increase from the previous year.

This puts the country’s murder rate at close to 36 people murdered per 100,000 population – with police minister Bheki Cele noting that 57 people are being murdered each day.

A further breakdown of the data showed that murders of women and children have also increased, accounting for just under 20% of all murders.

In the last year, 291 more women were killed than in 2017 – 117 more boys and 29 more girls. 3,915 women and children were murdered, in total.

Worst precincts

As part of its presentation, the SAPS revealed the 30 worst precincts for murder, with the Western Cape having the most stations recorded – however, Gauteng was not far behind.

Nyanga had the highest rate of murder, recording over 300 murders during the period, followed by Umlazi in KwaZulu Natal, with 223 murders (an increase of 19%).

These are the 30 biggest murder hotspots in South Africa:

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