Kwamashu in KwaZulu-Natal has replaced Nyanga in the Cape Peninsula as the murder capital of South Africa.

This was revealed with the release of the latest crime statistics in Parliament on Tuesday.

Two hundred and eight murders were recorded in Nyanga over the past financial year, 58 fewer than the previous year.

Three hundred killings were reported in Kwamashu, the highest in the country.

Despite this Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said there had been a steady decline in murder.

Mthethwa said despite high figures for violent crime, there was a decline in attempted murder too.

"Contact crime currently accounts for 32.7 percent of all crime. Murder declined by 3.4 percent and attempted murder by 4.3 percent."

The minister said house robberies had skyrocketed by over 40 percent whilst sexual offences have gone up by more than 10 percent.

"There are certain types of crime which increased during this same period. These increases serve to dampen some of our enthusiasm regarding the overall decrease in contact crimes."