South Africa recorded 24,692 murders and 40,475 rape cases during the 2024/25 financial year, according to figures provided by Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia.
Cachalia disclosed the numbers in a parliamentary response to MP Makashule Gana, who asked about serious crimes reported to police and how many cases resulted in prosecutions and convictions.
The SAPS annual figures also recorded 27,630 attempted murders.
There were 179,183 cases of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and 190,923 common assault cases.
Thousands of cases referred for prosecution
Of the murder cases recorded in prosecution data, 10,129 were referred for prosecution.
The data showed 3,628 murder convictions, while 893 cases resulted in acquittals and the same number were recorded as dismissals.
For attempted murder, 12,714 cases were referred for prosecution, with 1,880 convictions.
A total of 23,363 rape cases were referred for prosecution, resulting in 4,229 convictions.
The figures also recorded 1,495 rape acquittals and 1,495 dismissals.
For assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, 121,630 cases were referred for prosecution, with 11,692 convictions recorded.
Figures span different reporting periods
Cachalia cautioned that the prosecution statistics should not be interpreted as outcomes only for crimes reported during 2024/25.
The prosecution figures were extracted from the SAPS 6 system on 12 February 2026 and include cases first reported in earlier financial years.
Five-year figures show that 50,890 murder cases were referred for prosecution, resulting in 16,648 convictions.
Over the same period, 114,451 rape cases were referred for prosecution and 18,884 convictions were recorded.
Tens of thousands still pending
The data also shows a large backlog of serious criminal matters before the courts.
A total of 49,465 murder cases were listed as pending, along with 26,735 attempted murder cases.
There were also 126,371 pending grievous bodily harm cases and 99,577 common assault matters.
A further 53,582 rape cases remained pending.
The figures highlight the scale of violent crime facing South Africa and the pressure on police investigators, prosecutors and the courts.