out there where life expectancy is irrelevant as it could be taken from you any day. If

you’re planning your next holiday, you should strongly consider skipping all of these places.

From drug gangs to homicides to terrorism, we count 10 of the most dangerous cities in

the world.

10. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico Mexico is well known for drug trafficking,

and Ciudad Juarez has been one of the nation’s most violent cities. Police are often employed

or paid off by drug gangs resulting in hundreds if not thousand crimes going unsolved every

year. However this has been improving in recent years and murders are down from 3,111 in 2010

to 730 in 2012. While these numbers are still very scary, hopefully it shows a road to recovery

for the city. 9. Caracas, Venezuela

The capital of Venezuela, Caracas is currently facing a very serious crisis involving drug

gangs. Crime rate in general including muggings and theft is also very high, making this an

undesirable location for tourism. Since the election of current president Hugo Chavez

in 1998, murder rates have more than doubled and in 2008 Caracas won the award for “Murder

Capital of the World” by Foreign Policy. I’m not so sure there should be an award

for such a thing myself, but this shows how serious the problem in Caracas really is.

8. Cape Town, South Africa While South Africa is a tourism magnet due

to it’s natural beauty and close proximity to nature preserves and other attractions,

Cape Town can be a very dangerous city at the moment. A high level of poverty around

some sections is responsible for an extremely high crime rate, and many tourists go there

and never return. However, it is possible to visit Cape Town as long as you avoid the

more dangerous sections and don’t travel alone at night.

7. Guatemala City, Guatemala Guatemala is a nation located in the Caribbean

and it has many tourist attractions, Guatemala City is unfortunately not one of them. The

city is plagued with drug violence and has a high murder rate, along with many robberies,

carjackings and bus holdups. It’s advisable to stay away from this city if you’re thinking

of visiting Guatemala, or if you must visit, precautions should be taken such as not travelling

in the dark, keeping valuables to a minimum and avoiding buses if possible.

6. Acapulco, Mexico Not long ago this city was considered a safe

and luxurious resort area. However, since then drug violence has transformed this into

a very dangerous area indeed. Statistically, Acapulco holds one of the world’s highest

murder rates with 142 murders per 100,000 people. Visitors of this city are advised

to stay on the property of the resorts they’re visiting, as a majority of the crime occurs

in the surrounding areas.

5. Baghdad, Iraq Iraq has been on the “Do Not Travel” list

for Americans for many years now, and it’s not looking like that’s going to change

any time soon. Bombings, gunfire and unpredictable outbreaks of terrorism make this one of the

most dangerous cities in the world. The future of Iraq as a nation is currently very uncertain,

with US troops departing from the country, and for the foreseeable future, this is not

a city anyone should visit without a good reason.

4. Kabul, Afghanistan Kabul is in a very similar situation to Baghdad

at the moment. Violence and terrorism can occur at any time, and this is likely to be

a dangerous place for quite a while. Currently it’s still a war zone, though US troops

are slowly being removed from the country. Terrorist attacks, including bombings are

still very common. If you’re looking to visit Afghanistan in the near future, Kabul

may be a city to avoid. 3. San Pedro Sula, Honduras

A mortician from San Pedro told The Guardian “Satan Himself lives here in San Pedro”

With a murder rate of 187 per 100,000 people, San Pedro Sula was named the world’s most

violent city by a study made in Mexico in 2014. Arms and drug trafficking have flooded

the country, contributing to an increasingly high level of gang violence. This is further

made worse by civilians being able to legally own up to five personal firearms, along with

corruption and poverty throughout the city this doesn’t make for a peaceful life. Furthermore,

inmates have controlled all 24 prisons in Honduras since the government gave up on rehabilitating

convicts. 2. Karachi, Pakistan

Pakistan is experiencing a great deal of political unrest, with assassinations, suicide bombings

and gang warfare, Karachi is one of the centres of the violence in the country and tourists

are advised to avoid this city. Karachi is the largest city in Pakistan and is home to

around 23 million people making it the second largest city by population in the world. While

its murder rate is not as high as many of the other spots on this list, Karachi is the

most dangerous of the world’s largest cities, none of the other 13 largest cities in the

world come close to Karachi’s murder rate. 1. Mosul - Iraq

In June 2014, Mosul was overtaken by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). Since

then, Mosul has been arguably the most dangerous city in the world, with car bombings, suicide

bombings, assassinations and random shootings. In August 2014 the Mosul Dam was captured

by ISIS militants, which became a serious concern as the destruction of the Dam would

result in a 66ft wave of water which would’ve destroyed Mosul and other towns nearby. Fortunately

the Dam was re-captured by Iraqi and Kurdish forces and is now back in safe hands, but

regardless, Mosul in its current state is a place you definitely don’t want to visit.