With the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics revealing that violent crimes in America have risen 18 percent in the last year – the first rise in nearly 20 years – it’s almost shocking that only 4 of the 50 most violent cities in the world are in America.

STORY: On The Rise! Violent Crimes In America Rose 18 Percent

A study conducted by Joseph A. Sandgrouse, Chairman of the Citizens for Public Safety and Criminal Justice, found that San Pedro Sula, Honduras was the most violent city in the world in 2011, with a rate of 159 intentional homicides per 100 thousand inhabitants.

Even though the list states that Juarez, Mexico had 1,974 homicides, while San Pedro Sula only had 1,143, the rate of murders were greater – thus landing San Pedro the number one spot.

Staggering numbers like that make you not to want to visit Honduras anytime soon, but how do the rest of the world’s cities stack up?

Take a look at the top 10 most violent cities in the world.

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San Pedro Sula, Honduras has a population of 719,447 people and there were 1,143 homicides recorded in 2011, bringing their murder rate to 158.87.

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We’ve all read about the violence that has struck Juarez, Mexico, as they were the number one most violent city in the world in 2010. But in 2011, they recorded 1,974 homicides with a population of 1,335,890, making their murder rate 147.77 people per 100,000 residents.

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Maceió, Brazil had 1,564 homicides last year with a population of roughly 1.1 million people, making their murder rate 135.26 per 100,00 residents.

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Mexico appears numerous times on this list. Acapulco had 1,029 homicides last year with a population of 804,412, pushing their murder rate to 127.92 per 100,000 residents.

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Honduras lands on the list again. Central District has a 99.69 per 100,000 residents murder rate with a population of 1,126,534. There were 1,123 homicides recorded last year.

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Caracas, Venezuela had 3,164 homicides last year, but as we stated before it’s more about the murder rate, and Caracas has a 98.71 rate per 100,000 residents with a population of 3,205,463.

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Torreón, Mexico recorded 990 homicides last year with a murder rate of 87.75 per 100,000 residents. Torreón has a population of 1,128,152. As we can see, in many if these cities, overcrowding is a major issue.

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It’s fair to say that even though San Pedro Sula holds the number one spot on this list, Mexico is by far the most dangerous country. Chihuahua had 690 homicides with a rate of 82.96 per 100,00 residents. Chihuahua has a population of 831,693.

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Durango, Mexico had 474 homicides last year with a murder rate of 79.88 per 100,000 residents with a population of 593,389 people.

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Belém, Brazil rounds out the top 10 violent cities in the world, as they recorded 1,639 homicides in 2011 with a per 100,000 resident rate of 78.04. Belém has a population of 2,100,319.

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