When it comes to traveling to low-cost tourist locations, petty crimes are an ordinary phenomenon any traveler can observe (and handle). However, there are countries that are host to a different level of trouble no decent tourist would ever tolerate.

These top 5 most dangerous cities in the world are stand out according to their alarming murder rate per year. Each of these places is evaluated according to a number of people killed every year within the ratio of 100,000.

Caracas, Venezuela

The capital of Venezuela recently emerged as the most dangerous city in the world in terms of its petty crime rate. There is a total of 119.87 cases of murder per 100,000 citizens every year. Take note: this only represents a controlled fraction of the region-wide or even nation-wide scale. What significantly contributes to the danger is the fact that violence is comprised of a deadly mixture of riots, gang wars, and homicide.

San Pedro Sula, Honduras

Until 2016, San Pedro Sula held the top rank for the most dangerous city on earth for the past four years. Like many relatively impoverished South American countries, crime-rate in Honduras is largely linked to poverty and state-wide corruption. For every 100,000 citizens, 111 people are killed per year. 

San Salvador, El Salvador

The capital city of El Salvador has a total of 10,000 officially documented gang members, with criminal groups like Mara 18 and MS-13 gaining international attention from law enforcement agencies worldwide. Hence, a majority of its murder cases are closely linked to its criminal enterprises. There is a total of 108.54 murder cases per 100,000 citizens.

Acapulco, Mexico

Once the center of the Spanish galleon trade in the Americas, Acapulco becomes to be the fourth most dangerous city in the world in modern times. As one of the key 'narco-cities' in Mexico, violence is often linked to the state-wide corruption that fosters wanton drug trade. There is a total of 104.73 murder cases per 100,000 citizens.

Maturin, Venezuela

The fifth most dangerous city in the world has done well enough to leave a bad impression for anyone who is planning to spend a vacation in Venezuela. This city has a murder rate of over 86.45 per 100,000 within a single year.