What's the risk of death from terrorism, spiders, snakes and sharks?
We fear these things but are they really a serious problem? Here's the answer pulling data from official sources.
Causes of death - Top 30 causes 2005 USA (Some additional data 2014)
(Scroll or click for the unlikely causes)
Source: National Vital Statistics - Deaths: Final Data for 2005 / 2014
Rank |
Cause of death |
Percentage of total deaths 2005 |
Percentage of total deaths 2014 |
1 | Heart disease | 26.6 |
23.4 |
2 | Cancer | 22.9 |
22.5 |
3 | Stroke & other vascular disease | 5.9 |
5.1 |
4 | Respiratory disease | 5.3 |
5.6 |
5 | Accidents - All types | 4.8 |
5.2 |
6 | Diabetes | 3.1 |
2.9 |
7 | Alzheimer's disease | 2.9 |
3.6 |
8 | Accidents - Non transport | 2.8 |
|
9 | Flu and pneumonia | 2.6 |
2.1 |
10 | Accidents - Transport | 2.0 |
|
11 | Kidney disease | 1.8 |
1.2 |
12 | Septicemia | 1.4 |
|
13 | Suicide | 1.3 |
1.6 |
14 | Liver disease | 1.1 |
1.5 |
15 | High blood pressure | 1.0 |
1.2 |
16 | Accidents - Poisoning or exposure to harmful substances | 1.0 |
|
17 | Accidents - Falls | 0.8 |
|
18 | Parkinson’s disease | 0.8 |
1.0 |
19 | Homicide | 0.7 |
1.3 |
20 | HIV/AIDS | 0.5 |
|
21 | Birth defects | 0.4 |
|
22 | Infectious and parasitic diseases | 0.3 |
|
23 | Anemia | 0.2 |
|
24 | Asthma | 0.2 |
|
25 | Accidents - Drowning | 0.15 |
|
26 | Ulcers | 0.14 |
|
27 | Nutritional deficiencies | 0.13 |
|
28 | Complications of medical and surgical care | 0.11 |
|
29 | Hernia | 0.07 |
|
30 | Hodgkin's disease | 0.05 |
Unlikely causes of death - How likely are you to die because of...
The table shows risk of death in your lifetime unless otherwise stated.
Rank |
Cause of death |
Odds 1 in: |
1 |
Death in pregnancy In Europe per birth |
1,895 |
2 |
Death at work. Agricultural workers |
3,425 |
3 |
Death at work. Mining |
3,534 |
4 |
Death in pregnancy In North America per birth |
3,750 |
5 |
Death at Home. All people all risks |
7,875 |
6 |
Suicide by firearm USA |
16,831 |
7 |
Accident - Car occupant |
17,625 |
8 |
Infants - Mechanical suffocation |
18,970 |
9 |
Infants - Motor vehicle (traffic) |
22,075 |
10 |
Death at Home - Falls |
23,162 |
11 |
Assault by firearm USA |
24,342 |
12 |
Death at work. All workers |
28,571 |
13 |
Death at Home - Poisoning |
30,288 |
14 |
Death at work. Professional & Business services |
34,483 |
15 |
Overdose of narcotics and hallucinogens |
34,843 |
16 |
Infants - Fire and Flames |
35,211 |
17 |
Various medicaments and biologics |
41,828 |
18 |
suicide by hanging or self-strangulation |
44,559 |
19 |
Infants - Drowning |
46,948 |
20 |
Pedestrian |
47,273 |
21 |
Suicide by poisoning |
52,487 |
22 |
Infants -Inhalation of non-food object |
57,142 |
23 |
Accident - Occupant of pick-up
truck or van |
67,182 |
24 |
Death from Choking |
70,000 |
25 |
Drowning - All causes |
83,534 |
26 |
Accidental poisoning |
86,313 |
27 |
Death at home - Fires |
87,500 |
28 |
Accident - Motor Cycle Rider |
89,562 |
29 |
Fire - all causes |
91,149 |
30 |
Complications by medical and surgical care |
101,281 |
31 |
Uncontrolled fire in building |
113,676 |
32 |
Assault by sharp object |
138,834 |
33 |
Death at work. Financial activities |
142,858 |
34 |
Falling from stairs or steps |
180,188 |
35 |
In natural water |
217,314 |
36 |
Riding horse or animal drawn vehicle |
244,180 |
37 |
Anti-epileptic sedative-hypnotic etc |
281,193 |
38 |
Hit by some object unintentionally |
333,265 |
39 |
Food- in respiratory tract (Choking) |
351,577 |
40 |
Falling from bed, chair or furniture |
366,804 |
41 |
Pedal Cyclist |
375,412 |
42 |
Inhaling gases and vapors |
416,702 |
43 |
From air and space accidents |
440,951 |
44 |
Contact with machinery |
441,628 |
45 |
Tripping/slipping at same level |
445,729 |
46 |
Excessive natural cold |
445,729 |
47 |
In swimming pool |
452,738 |
48 |
While on water transportation |
466,679 |
49 |
Falling out of building |
516,950 |
50 |
Suffocation in bed |
565,700 |
51 |
Traveling in heavy transport vehicle |
631,450 |
52 |
Falling from ladder or scaffolding |
709,215 |
53 |
Child abduction murder |
730,008 |
54 |
Alcohol |
811,102 |
55 |
In bath tub |
818,015 |
56 |
Excessive natural heat |
822,689 |
57 |
Electrocution (non transmission lines) |
894,227 |
58 |
Strangulation |
969,499 |
59 |
Drowning or submersion |
1,111,742 |
60 |
Accidental firearm discharge |
1,184,943 |
61 |
Pain relievers anti-rheumatics etc |
1,297,033 |
62 |
Occupant of agricultural vehicle |
1,932,491 |
63 |
Explosion of other materials |
2,101,781 |
64 |
Accidental hanging or strangulation |
2,164,927 |
65 |
Overexertion travel and privation |
2,249,541 |
66 |
Caught between 2 objects |
2,503,837 |
67 |
Electric transmission lines |
2,641,663 |
68 |
Contact with sharp objects |
2,742,297 |
69 |
Falling from high place |
2,795,546 |
70 |
Bitten by mammals other than dogs |
3,839,216 |
71 |
Legal execution! |
4,297,630 |
72 |
From lightning strikes |
4,326,748 |
73 |
From cataclysmic storm |
4,570,498 |
74 |
Cave-in or falling earth |
5,051,600 |
75 |
Stung by hornets, wasps and bees |
5,332,245 |
76 |
Occupant of a bus |
6,696,307 |
77 |
Contact with hot tap water |
7,198,531 |
78 |
Controlled fire in building |
8,226,892 |
79 |
From earthquakes |
9,288,426 |
80 |
9,300,000 |
|
81 |
While on railway train |
10,283,615 |
82 |
Explosion of pressurized vessels |
10,664,490 |
83 |
Struck by a person |
11,074,662 |
84 |
Bitten by a dog |
15,966,734 |
85 |
Bitten or stung by insect |
22,149,325 |
86 |
Ignition of nightwear |
22,149,325 |
87 |
Excessive man-made heat or cold |
28,784,122 |
88 |
Contact with venomous spiders |
28,794,122 |
89 |
From Floods |
31,993,469 |
90 |
Unintentional firearms discharge |
57,588,244 |
91 |
Explosion of fireworks |
57,588,244 |
92 |
Killed while occupant of street car |
71,985,305 |
93 |
Contact with venomous snakes |
95,980,407 |
94 | Killed by a vending machine | 112,000,000 |
95 |
Shark attack |
264,100,000 |
96 |
Rabies - in USA |
880,000,000 |
97 |
killed by a meteor |
765,000,000,000,000,000 |
Now how about that. Your own government is twice as likely to execute you than a terrorist is! Terrorism has killed 250,000 since 2000. Awful you might think and a tragedy if a family member is affected BUT that's less than 0.004% of the world population. We spend a fortune on anti-terrorist action. What would the effect be if instead we spent that on heart disease research?