CAPE TOWN - Four South African cities are on a list of 50 most dangerous places in the world, according to a new study.

They are Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizebath and Johannesburg, said the study by the Mexican research group Seguridad, Justicia y Paz (Security, Justice and Peace),

Of the four cities, Cape Town is considered even more dangerous than Johannesburg which is notorious for crimes, according to the study published on Wednesday.

Cape Town is the 34th most dangerous place in the world, while Johannesburg is 50th.

Durban and Port Elizabeth are also more dangerous than Johannesburg, said the study.

Cities are listed according to how many murders are committed per 100, 000 residents.

The researchers look only at cities with more than 300,000 residents where statistics on murders are available.

Cape Town has 46 murders per 100,000 residents, compared with 30.50 murders per 100,000 residents in Johannesburg, which is last on the list.

Durban made the 49th spot with 30.54 murders per 100,000 residents, while Port Elizabeth had 36 murders per 100,000 residents, making it 41st.

The cities in the top 33 spots were all in North and South America.

Cape Town is therefore the most dangerous city in the world outside of the Americas, according to the report.

San Pedro Sula in Honduras is the most dangerous city in the world, with 159 murders per 100,000 residents.

Juárez in Mexico is second on the list and Maceió in Brazil is third.