Travel safety: How and where do Americans die overseas?

Travel safety: How and where do Americans die overseas? - The amount of Americans who die while traveling is small: Between 2002 and 2016, only 827 Americans died of unnatural causes abroad. That’s out of millions of US citizens who travel overseas every year, so traveling is highly unlikely to be dangerous. Additionally, no Americans were killed as a consequence of terrorism in the time period either. The real causes of death among American travelers, as compiled by the US State Department are far less newsworthy. Check out how US citizens most typically die abroad and where.

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Causes of death: Traffic accidents - Reported number of American deaths: 3,104.

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Causes of death: Homicide - Reported number of American deaths: 2,000.

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Causes of death: Suicide - Reported number of American deaths: 1,461.

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Causes of death: Drowning - Reported number of American deaths: 1,320.

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Causes of death: Other accidents - Reported number of American deaths: 1,294.

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Where do Americans die more often? - Between 2014 and 2015, five countries saw the highest number of American deaths: 351 combined among them.

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1. Mexico - Deaths reported: 228. Mexico is the most popular destination abroad for Americans, so this number is expected.

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2. Thailand - Deaths reported: 35. Although considerably lower than Mexico, Thailand doesn’t receive as many Americans per year (339,000 compared to almost 28 million Americans that visited Mexico in 2016). The majority of those deaths, 12, are due to suicide. Another 10 are a consequence of motorcycles, a popular tourist activity in Thailand.

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3. Costa Rica - Deaths reported: 31. Of this number, 17 were due to drowning.

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4. Philippines - Deaths reported: 29. Of these, 12 were homicides and 10 motor vehicle accidents.

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5. Dominican Republic - Deaths reported: 28 deaths. The majority, 10, are a result of drownings.

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Suicide - Suicide is actually quite prevalent as a cause of death for Americans overseas, registering at almost 1,500 in the analyzed time. That translates into more than 100 Americans committing suicide while traveling per year.

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American suicides abroad: Mexico - Suicides reported: 250.

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American suicides abroad: Germany - Suicides reported: 100.

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American suicides abroad: Thailand - Suicides reported: 87.

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American suicides abroad: Korea - Suicides reported: 71.

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American suicides abroad: Japan - Suicides reported: 59.

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American suicides abroad: The case of Switzerland - Switzerland presents a special case with 22 American suicides, which is high compared to the number of American travelers to the country overall. The CDC suggests that the reason behind this phenomenon is suicide-travel, given that Switzerland has laws in place that allow foreigners to participate in assisted suicide.

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Drowning - Drowning is also an under-recognized cause of death overseas, with 1,320 Americans having lost their life this way.

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American drownings abroad: Mexico - Drownings reported: 355.

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American drownings abroad: Costa Rica - Drownings reported: 101.

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American drownings abroad: The Bahamas - Drownings reported: 83.

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American drownings abroad: Dominican Republic - Drownings reported: 47.

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American drownings abroad: Jamaica - Drownings reported: 46.

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Drugs - Drug-related deaths, including overdoses, for American travelers is not uncommon. The following five countries saw almost 140 American deaths between 2002 and 2014.

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American drug deaths abroad: Mexico - Reported deaths: 59.

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American drug deaths abroad: Costa Rica - Reported deaths: 23.

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American drug deaths abroad: Cambodia - Reported deaths: 21. This is a particular case, given that Cambodia isn’t a popular travel destination among Americans (compared to Mexico and Costa Rica, for example). This is likely related to the country's past heroin history, combined with its poor health care infrastructure.

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American drug deaths abroad: Thailand - Reported deaths: 20.

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American drug deaths abroad: Germany - Reported deaths: 16.

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Travel safety: How and where do Americans die overseas?

Some surprising destinations and causes made the list

09/11/18 | StarsInsider

TRAVEL Travel

The amount of Americans who die while traveling is small: Between 2002 and 2016, only 827 Americans died of unnatural causes abroad. That’s out of millions of US citizens who travel overseas every year, so traveling is highly unlikely to be dangerous. Additionally, no Americans were killed as a consequence of terrorism in the time period either. The real causes of death among American travelers, as compiled by the US State Department are far less newsworthy. Check out how US citizens most typically die abroad and where.