Just so people don't think shark attacks are anything but rare, this list is based on all attacks from 1580 to the present. There have been only 569 recorded fatalities due to shark attacks from 1580 to the present. Sharks generally mistake us for seals and when they discover we don't taste like seals they leave us alone. Makes for great television though.
I think a country needs four things to appear prominently among the countries in this quiz: (1) large population; (2) access to warm seas; (3) good record keeping going back a long time; and (4) a wealthy population who can afford to spend time on the beach. Small wonder the United States tops the list.
"The US obesity prevalence was 41.9% in 2017 – March 2020. From 1999 –2000 through 2017 –March 2020, US obesity prevalence increased from 30.5% to 41.9%. During the same time, the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.2%"
cdc.gov (centers for disease control and prevention)
these stats might also be less than it is in 2022 if it follows the trend
How did we get from the phrase "being such an obese country..." to "...all Americans are obese?". We are indeed an obese country, as any number of studies have reported. Certainly not _all_ Americans are obese, nor did the original poster say such, or even insinuate such.
As some have suggested, I suspect much of it has to do with record keeping. For instance, I am amazed the Philippines did not make the list; that could easily be the result of haphazard recording of attacks. Iran is the one that I failed to guess, and am still quite surprised by. Could that be more the result of meticulous record keeping than anything else? I wonder.
Good job to the quiz maker for recognizing that Puerto Rico is part of the United States, along with other territories. The number cited is then correct when these numbers are added up.
This is RECORDED, which has very little to do with ACTUAL numbers. As everyone noted the countries thate make up the top of the list are the only ones that keep record. India, the Philippines, Indonesia and eastern African countries would probably be at the top of the REAl list. Anyway, even counting probably thousands of non recorded instances in the last centuries, shark attack numbers are still minuscule compared to those of dog, cattle, snake, crocodile or even bee or wasp attacks.
They might be higher but I sincerely doubt they would be at the top. There aren't that many indigenous surfers in Indonesia or Somalia. If you don't go swimming out in the ocean you're not going to get attacked by sharks.
There may also be a bias in some countries to suppress reports in order not to discourage tourism. But it's also a good point that the number of surfers & swimmers in the water will have a big effect. I wonder how many fishermen get bitten.
In other quizzes, external territories do not count. If Reunion, Tahiti, New Caledonia are to count, then at the very least in the notes it should say INCLUDING EXTERNAL TERRITORIES.
The data source also segregates the Canary Islands from Spain, which is strange.
The Sun did an article on shark attacks since 1900, their figures were 50 for Italy, 38 for UK and 35 for Spain. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4084241/as-a-third-shark-attack-rocks-majorca-europes-most-dangerous-spots-to-swim-are-revealed-and-britain-is-in-second-place/
Interesting that so many of these countries are English-speaking, or frequented by English speakers - Australia, but not Indonesia? South Africa, but not Mozambique? I think the source is biased.
An indian friend of mine said that he knows people from his village that were killed by sharks. Also, there are some weird fatalities in a place in Greece known for its deep waters. In other words, shark fatalities are indeed rarer than what is often depicted, but they remain largely underreported. This is also confirmed by the absence of India, Indonesia and other countries, while USA dominates.
I hate finishing behind the USA in anything: quantity of people killed by sharks, obesity...Bearing in mind that sharks love fat, catching up to the USA in terms of national obesity could really help us catch them with the other one. Hey: a two birds, one stone situation.
My favourite conspiracy theory is that there are far more shark-related fatalities in Australia than are reported, but the government hushes this up to keep all of those tasty, tasty tourists coming here with their lovely money.
I like it because the idea of any Australian government (ever) being competent enough to keep a secret is amusing.
But yeah: we're just much more delicious than anyone else
cdc.gov (centers for disease control and prevention)
these stats might also be less than it is in 2022 if it follows the trend
USA 1407
Australia 621
Republic of South Africa 252
Brazil 104
New Zealand 51
Papua New Guinea 48
Mascarene Islands (Reunion Island) 42
Mexico 40
Bahama Islands 30
Iran 23
Fiji Islands 22
Egypt 19
Japan 15
Greece 15.
The figure for USA in the quiz is incorrect and France only have 5, not 66.
The data source also segregates the Canary Islands from Spain, which is strange.
The Sun did an article on shark attacks since 1900, their figures were 50 for Italy, 38 for UK and 35 for Spain. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4084241/as-a-third-shark-attack-rocks-majorca-europes-most-dangerous-spots-to-swim-are-revealed-and-britain-is-in-second-place/
On the other hand, every minute more than 100 sharks are killed by humans.
I like it because the idea of any Australian government (ever) being competent enough to keep a secret is amusing.
But yeah: we're just much more delicious than anyone else