South Africa is in the top ten most dangerous countries in Africa for personal safety

The latest Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) paints a pretty grim picture when it comes to personal safety in South Africa. According to the index, South Africa ranks 47th (out of 54) when it comes to personal safety.

The ranking is perhaps not too much a surprise, considering the rising crime levels. Ahead of South Africa is Somalia, South Sudan, Libya, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Burundi – all countries who have experienced some sort of armed conflict in recent years.

The personal safety category considers different metrics – human trafficking, police service, political violence, safety of the person, social the unrest and crime. South Africa’s scores were broken down as follows (all rankings out of 54):

• Human Trafficking – 1st
• Police Service – 23rd
• Political Violence – 37th
• Safety of the Person – 46th
• Social Unrest – 50th
• Crime – 50th

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Despite these rather grim statistics, South Africa is still ranked in the top 10 in the overall safety and rule of law category. The country comes in at seventh thanks to a strong judicial system, and strong levels of accountability (when compared to other African nations).

It also ranked well for human rights (third) and fourth for sustainable economic opportunity.

“Three countries — South Africa, Mali and Madagascar — though still registering a deterioration over the decade, show signs of ‘Bouncing Back’, potentially reversing decline over the decade by registering a positive trend in the last five years,” the foundations aid.

“Of the 12 countries that have experienced a decline both during the past ten and five years, four have also managed to slow their pace of deterioration over the past five: Algeria, Madagascar, South Africa and Tunisia.”

South Africa has shown a decline in the index since 2007, losing 0.14 index points each year to its overall governance score. But there has been some rebound recently and the country still ranks in the top ten for overall governence. It comes in at sixth, below Mauritius, Seychelles, Botswana, Cape Verde and Namibia.

The IIAG was established in 2007 and claims to be the most comprehensive collection of quantitative data on governance in Africa, assessing 54 countries.