Every year, millions of South Africans experience crime — sometimes in their homes, sometimes on the streets, and increasingly through fraud. The Victims of Crime Survey 2024/25, now known as the Governance, Public Safety and Justice Survey (GPSJS) gives us a clear sense of what’s really happening, beyond the crimes reported to police. It not only highlights the percentage of people affected but also reveals the actual numbers — and that is where the real story lies.

The scale of crime in numbers

In 2024/25, about 1.1 million households were victims of housebreaking — the single most common household crime. That’s nearly 1 in 18 homes across the country. On top of this, around 213,000 households suffered home robberies, where perpetrators used force or threat. Assault within households touched another 123,000 homes.

For individuals, the most widespread crime was theft of personal property, with about 1.16 million people affected (2.6% of the adult population). Street robbery struck 470,000 people, while consumer fraud deceived 566,000 people. Even motor vehicle hijackings — although a smaller percentage — affected over 102,000 South Africans.

Crime by race group: percentages vs people

Percentages can be misleading if you don’t look at the base population. For example:

• Housebreaking: Indian/Asian households show the highest risk (10.3%), but because Black African households make up over 80% of South Africa’s population, the majority of victims are still Black households. At 5.4%, that translates to hundreds of thousands of Black families.
• Home robbery: Around 1.8% of Indian/Asian households were hit, compared to 1.1% of Black households. But in numbers, this means far more Black households experienced home robbery.
• Consumer fraud: White South Africans show the highest victimisation rate (4.2%), but in absolute numbers, more Black South Africans were affected simply because of their larger population base.
• Street robbery: Coloured people reported the highest percentage (1.5%), but again, the largest number of victims came from the Black African majority.

The picture is clear – crime cuts across all groups, but in real numbers – Black households and individuals carry the largest burden.

Crime by province: where risks are concentrated

Geography matters as much as demography. The report shows:

• KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) leads in housebreaking (7.6% of households). With about 2.7 million households, that equates to over 200,000 homes broken into.
• Gauteng, South Africa’s economic hub, suffers high rates of both home robbery (1.4%, or about 80,000 households) and personal theft (3.6% of individuals — nearly 450,000 people).
• Western Cape shows elevated levels of street robbery (1.7%) and assault (1.6%), hitting dense urban centres hard.
• Eastern Cape and Northern Cape face high livestock theft, a uniquely rural burden affecting tens of thousands of farming families.

Why this matters for business and citizens

Understanding both the percentage risk and the absolute number of victims changes how we think about crime:

• Retailers and logistics companies in Gauteng and the Western Cape face heightened threats from theft and robbery — with direct implications for supply chains, insurance costs, and staffing safety.
• Home security providers see their biggest opportunities in KZN and Eastern Cape, where housebreaking affects hundreds of thousands of households.
• Rural cooperatives and agribusinesses must deal with livestock theft that undermines food security and household income.

How GeoScope makes the numbers work for you

GeoScope translates survey percentages and population estimates into hyper-local maps and dashboards. By combining Stats SA survey data with police records, demographics, and on-the-ground signals, GeoScope can:

1. Pinpoint hotspots down to neighbourhoods — showing where burglary, robbery, or fraud are clustering.
2. Forecast risks by linking population size with victimisation rates, helping businesses size the true threat in different areas.
3. Support smarter decisions — from choosing new retail sites and delivery routes to pricing insurance premiums and planning community safety campaigns.
4. Empower communities with easy-to-read dashboards that make crime risks transparent, not hidden in percentages.

Crime statistics are not just about percentages. When you convert them into actual numbers, the scale of the challenge — especially for South Africa’s majority population — becomes undeniable. With GeoScope, those numbers can be turned into insights that help businesses protect their assets and staff and help citizens live safer lives.

To view our Crime profile map viewer showing the latest crime statistics at a Peace Station level click here