While Mexico Citizens' Council for Public Saftey published a detailed report of the world's most deadly cities, the countries with the highest murder rates may surprise you.

With gun violence endemic in many parts of the developing world, many countries that make our list also happen to be premier tourist attractions, with millions flocking to their shores each year. But there's an ugly, grittier side to these nations you probably haven't seen. Using the international homicide rate statistics, which bases each murder per 100,000 inhabitants per year, these statistics have granted us valuable insight into the world's most dangerous countries.

Here are the top 10 most deadly countries on Earth.

South Africa, 31

Nicknamed “The Rainbow Nation”, South Africa's past has certainly been colorful, but not for the reasons you'd have hoped. With 54 million people residing in the country, tensions between white and blacks remain high, despite Nelson Mandella's post-apartheid legacy seemingly putting an end to years of prejudice.  There's also a lot of black-on-black crime, and the country itself has a very high rate of murders, assaults, rape, robberies, and other violent crimes.

According to local police records, around 50 people are murdered every day in South Africa.

Saint Kitts and Nevis, 33.6

The Carribean island of Saint Kitts and Nevis is the smallest sovereign state in the Americas, which may go along way in explaining its inclusion on our list. Home to only 50,000 people, it appears many on the island have no qualms about killing one another.

Indeed, with an average murder rate of 33.6 homicides per 100,000 people, Saint Kitts and Nevis will have to crack down harder on criminals if they wish to attract the same tourists the nearby islands of St Lucia and Cuba experience.

Swaziland, 33.8

Bordering South Africa, it seems almost inevitable that the small nation of Swaziland, with a population of just over 1 million, would suffer similar problems.

But just like Saint Kitts and Nevis, it's small population hasn't led to cozy communities- far from it. Instead, Swaziland is a country riddled with poverty and diseases and has an estimated average life expectancy of just 50 years!

Lesotho, 38

Another small African country located close to South Africa, Lesotho's homicide rate is alarmingly high. Its poverty rate may partly explain this. Over half the population finds themselves below the poverty line which has led to much criminality and an annual murder rate that won't be attracting tourists anytime soon. 

 Jamaica, 39.3

Unlike Saint Kitts and Nevis, Jamaica has never struggled with tourists, but even Jamaica's chilled vibes have struggled to arrest the violence that persists in the capital, Kingston. Consisting of 11,000 square kilometers, Jamaica is one of the Carribean's most deadly islands.

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