DURBAN, South Africa, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The South African death rate due to violence was more than six times higher than the global rate, according to information coming from world conference opened here on Sunday.

    The study by the Univers ity of South African shows that there were more than 27,000 violence-related deaths in South Africa in 2000.

    Gunshot injuries are the leading causes of violence-related deaths in South Africa, making up 46 percent of the total.

    According to the study paper distributing in the 8th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion, of the 6,167 firearm deaths recorded in 2004, 86 percent were violence-related,13 percent were suicides and less than 1 percent were unintentional.

    There were more firearm-related violent deaths in the 25-29-year age group than in any other.

    Local specialists said that illegal firearms -- estimated at 3-4 million -- should be blamed for the increasing violence and armed robbery in the country.

    In 2004, men were more than six times as likely as women to dieas a result of violence, however, for victims of both genders the perpetrators were usually male.

    The study found that early morning (6-9 am) and evening (6-11 pm) are the danger zones for men and women.

    In 2004, the highest rates of fatal violence were recorded in the 25-44-year age category. This was mainly due to the sharp increase in male deaths from the age of fifteen years.

    The average age of women who died as a result of violence was 33.8 years. For men it was 31.8 years. Enditem