Gasping for air: the staggering statistics of drowning

Did you know that drowning is a leading cause of accidental death worldwide? In fact, it ranks at number 3. Founder of Action to End Drowning, Arthur Benjamin, shares eye-opening statistics of this startlingly silent killer…

Fast facts about drowning

First and foremost, drowning is a fast and silent killer. In the vast majority of drowning-related fatalities, no one even notices that a drowning death is impending. Taking as little as 20 to 60 seconds, a drowning attack comes without warning or signal — and fast!

Startling drowning statistics

• Roughly 320,000 people die annually from drowning, worldwide
• Males are at higher risk of drowning than females, by more than 50%
• In the United States, an estimated average of 10 fatal drowning occur each day
• Drowning is a leading cause of unintentional injury death, on a global scale

Action to End Drowning is a nonprofit organization dedicated to minimizing the drowning deaths in America. The nonprofit’s approach is education-centric and device-focused. Their most recent project is working to provide public swimming pools with life saving devices that notify nearby individuals when someone is at risk of drowning.