Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre and one of Africa’s busiest megacities, has been ranked among the world’s 50 most dangerous cities in 2026, placing 28th on a global crime index that raises fresh questions about urban safety, insecurity and the growing pressure on law enforcement.
Lagos is the only Nigerian city on the ranking published by the “Numbeo Crime Index by City 2026” – a Serbia-based global data platform that compiles crowd-sourced information on crime safety, cost of living and quality of life across cities and countries.
The list records Lagos with a crime index of 68.8, placing it in the high crime category under Numbeo’s classification. The index ranges from zero to 100, with scores above 60 classified as high and those above 80 as very high.
Nigeria’s commercial capital is placed ahead of major cities including Damascus in Syria, New Orleans in the United States, San Juan in Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
According to the survey, five South African cities occupy positions among the top eight, with Pietermaritzburg taking the first position, followed by Pretoria in second place, Johannesburg in fifth, Durban in sixth and Port Elizabeth in eighth.
Caracas, Venezuela, and Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, occupy third and fourth positions respectively. Windhoek, Namibia, comes in at number 30.
The figures also point to persistent safety concerns across the Americas. Brazil has five cities among the top 25, while the United States has several, including Memphis, Detroit, Baltimore, Albuquerque and St. Louis.
Other cities featured in the top 50 include Kingston in Jamaica, Mexico City, Marseille in France, Manila in the Philippines, Birmingham in the United Kingdom and Houston in the United States.
Numbeo’s Crime Index draws on several indicators, among them residents’ perceptions of crime, how safe they feel walking alone during the day or at night, and their experiences or concerns about robbery, mugging, car theft, burglary, physical attacks and harassment. It also considers drug-related problems, property crime, violent crime and corruption.
The ranking reflects perceptions captured by Numbeo’s survey, rather than a verified ranking of reported criminal offences. It is based on surveys completed by Numbeo website visitors and not a direct count of police-recorded offences, reported criminal incidents or official national crime statistics.
Numbeo processes the responses into scores ranging from zero to 100 to make comparisons between cities possible. The organisation also acknowledges that public perceptions of crime may not always correspond with official crime figures.
For Lagos, the survey notes that the 28th position adds to the concerns surrounding safety in one of Africa’s most populous urban centres. It also brings renewed attention to the need for more effective policing, stronger intelligence gathering, safer public spaces and a more decisive response to robbery, theft and other security threats.
