Top Countries for Shark Attacks

Which countries have been the site of the most confirmed shark attacks against humans since 1580?

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Country totals include their external territories

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Last updated: February 22, 2022

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First submitted	July 8, 2014
Times taken	43,716
Average score	63.6%
Rating	4.49

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#	Country
1576	United States
682	Australia
258	South Africa
110	Brazil
78	France
56	New Zealand

#	Country
48	Papua New Guinea
41	Mexico
33	Bahamas
23	Iran
23	Fiji

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55 Comments

+63

Level 87

Jul 8, 2014

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.

+40

Level 81

Jul 9, 2014

Also, this is "recorded" shark attacks... since 1580 the USA has kept much better records than most other places.

+69

Level 66

Sep 16, 2018

Nice try, shark lobby. I'm not buying it.

+34

Level 74

Jun 6, 2020

I guess I know who is going to be "mistaken for a seal" very soon.

Level 91

Nov 9, 2020

I vaguely knew the lady who got killed in the US this year. I think it was only the 2nd worldwide for the year.

Level 54

Jun 28, 2021

And then in December Australia blew the entire list up.

+17

Level 81

Jul 9, 2014

Got bored and gave up before guessing Fiji but got the rest. Americans are so delicious!!!!

+21

Level 64

Sep 19, 2018

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.

Level 58

Apr 14, 2022

And where are you getting this information that all Americans are obese? Exactly.

+10

Level 69

Jul 28, 2022

"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

Level 87

Jul 28, 2022

Looking like seals does help pad the stats.

Level 55

Jul 30, 2022

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.

+10

Level 81

Nov 15, 2020

On a per capita basis, I'd say Australians are considerably more delicious, it seems.

+14

Level 75

Aug 23, 2018

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.

Level 34

Nov 22, 2019

It's actually due to waters not being suitable for sharks.

Level 72

Feb 16, 2024

Philippines has sharks - threshers, white tip, reef sharks, whale sharks. Just not Great White, Tiger or Bull sharks which are the main ones to attack humans.

Level 94

Aug 23, 2018

This is actually copied and pasted from the source...

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.

+19

Level 74

Aug 23, 2018

Reunion Island is part of France

Level 80

Feb 20, 2021

Réunion is indeed an overseas department of France.

Level 54

Jun 28, 2021

They have had so many dangerous attacks that it is now effectively illegal to swim in many places there

+17

Level 79

Aug 23, 2018

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.

+11

Level ∞

Aug 23, 2018

Yes, the quiz is correct.

Level 82

Nov 17, 2020

How did you get to Level 88 and manage to think Reunion is a country and not part of France? Did you miss out on a few quizzes or a few hundred?

Level 40

Apr 20, 2022

French Guiana and Reunion exist.

Level 69

Aug 23, 2018

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.

Level 81

Aug 23, 2018

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.

Level 33

Aug 24, 2018

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.

Level 67

Aug 25, 2018

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/

Level ∞

Aug 25, 2018

Added a caveat. Isn't the Sun a tabloid?

Level 72

Sep 16, 2018

Yes.

Level 34

Nov 22, 2019

Never believe anything The Sun puts out.

Level 87

Jul 28, 2022

Scousers never buy the Sun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uWw7kuiCss

Level 44

Feb 13, 2025

The Sun is a great source of lies, but not facts.

Level 72

Sep 17, 2018

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.

Level 91

Nov 9, 2020

More like the sharks are.

Level 61

Jun 11, 2022

Sharks can only speak english, didnt you know that? Imagine ordering for a human in portuguese, quite hard for them

Level 75

Sep 17, 2018

Sadly, we need to add one more to the US statistics.

Level 50

Sep 17, 2018

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.

Level 74

Dec 13, 2021

I think India probably has a lot more. Bull sharks exist in the River Ganges, besides activities along the coast.

Level 45

Sep 18, 2018

A boat carrying 5 fishermen off Isla Mujeres, Mexico disappeared 2 years ago. No sign of any of them - shark perhaps? Recorded as such, probably not.

Level 65

Mar 8, 2021

suprised to see Iran on here. When I think Iran, I don't really think of sharks

Level 52

Apr 8, 2021

Iran ? WTF ?

Level 54

Apr 9, 2021

Poor Recife and Boa Viagem beach probably are the only reasons why brazil makes it here.

Level 70

May 1, 2022

Why does Iran have so many?

Level 91

Jul 28, 2022

I haven't looked too much into it but apparently some of its rivers are popular hotspots for sharks.

Level 72

Jul 28, 2022

Sharks seem to have a strong predilection for Anglophones. Hmmmmm...

Level 69

Jul 28, 2022

Every year only about 10 humans are killed by sharks.

On the other hand, every minute more than 100 sharks are killed by humans.

Level 63

Jul 29, 2022

Yeah, when I looked it up I found a little more than 180 sharks killed by humans per minute.

Level 44

Jul 30, 2022

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.

Level 44

Jul 30, 2022

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

Level 78

Dec 15, 2022

No Kazakhstan?

Level 33

Dec 19, 2022

Who knew sharks are in Iran?

Level 20

Feb 15, 2024

i did idrk why i j did lol

Level 69