America: Stop Freaking Out about Travel, I’m Safer Abroad Than I Am Here (And I Have the Statistics to Prove It)

As I plan to set out on my next big trip backpacking solo through South and Central America, I am met with a lot of apprehension and surprise by my American family and friends.

“But… you must be meeting up with friends down there… right?”

“Do you have family in that area?”

“Did you get a job there?”

“Will you always have cell service… you know, for safety?”

“What do you use to protect yourself while traveling? You don’t carry… a gun, do you?” (Someone actually asked me this a few days ago after overhearing my conversation).

I don’t know what kind of mysterious hell many Americans percieve ‘abroad’ to be – a generalized place where everyone is trying to kill you or steal your money, especially if you are alone.

Well, America, I’m about to hit you with some knowledge.

Statistically speaking, I am much more likely to be killed from gun violence in America than I am for any reason traveling abroad.

Statistically speaking, I am more likely to be killed by a mass shooting in America than I am by any type of homicide abroad.

Americans hear on the news the rare instances of tragedy abroad, and make generalizations based on that. You hear of a terrorist attack, better not go to Europe. You hear of a backpacker who died while hiking the Amazon; better not go to South America. I mean, haven’t you seen ‘Taken?!’ Why would you want to endanger yourself like that? It’s too dangerous ‘abroad,‘ people think.

Here are the numbers.

Statistics on American Deaths Abroad

According to TIME Magazine’s analysis of the US State Department’s registry of American Deaths (written in 2016), an average of 827 Americans have died abroad of unnatural causes per year for the last 13 years (out of 68 million Americans traveling abroad per year).

That statistic alone is enough to prove that, although travel tragedies are heavily covered in viral stories and movie plots, traveling is not taking your life into your hands as much as people think.

But, further, only a fraction of these deaths are from actual homicide. FIFTY PERCENT of American deaths abroad are from cars, busses, motorcycles, ferries, trains, bicycles, and other forms of transportation (TIME article). These tragedies are due to not buckling up, lapses in safety judgment, choosing the wrong mode of transport, or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Out of 10,545 deaths since 2002 (According to TIME written in 2016 with info obtained from the US department of  National Travel and Tourism Office):

13% of American deaths abroad in the past 13 years are from drowning.

14% of American deaths abroad in the past 13 ears are from suicide.

19% of American deaths abroad in the past 13 years are from homicide. So, less than a quarter.

This roughly correlates to 157 Americans actually getting killed while abroad each year on average from actual homicide.

Most of these homicides occur in certain countries, too. Mexico receives one of the highest numbers of American visitors per year, and also has one of the highest number of homicides. Countries like Honduras and Haiti, with very high crime rates as it is, also receive some of the largest numbers of American homicides on average.

Some years are worse than others, often including American lives being claimed by earthquakes or other natural disasters. Some areas are getting safer, and some the opposite. But the bottom line is that traffic accidents kill many more Americans than terrorism (see below), homicides, or drug deaths, which did not even make the list.

See the TIME article linked above for more interesting stats, or this Bloomberg article for another analysis of the same information.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bcv_LtjHuaU/?taken-by=kimmconn

Here I am traveling solo in a remote part of Africa. I was on an organized tour, and – let me check – yep, I’m still alive.

Statistics on Gun Violence and Mass Shootings in America

Gun Violence

Now, let’s talk about gun violence. I’m not talking about all different kinds of unnatural deaths in America… just gun violence.

“According to figures from the US Department of Justice and the Council on Foreign Affairs, 11,385 people died on average annually in firearm incidents in the US between 2001 and 2011.” (BBC News)

In 2013, there were 11,208 homicides in the US due to firearms. In 2015, there were 13,286. (Wikipedia)

Let’s compare this 11.3k average deaths per year from gun violence in the US, to the 827 Americans dying abroad each year on average due to ANY reason (which are mostly from transportation).

Mass Shootings

A mass shooting is defined as, “FOUR or more shot and/or killed in a single event [incident], at the same general time and location, not including the shooter.” (Shooting Tracker)

In 2014, 271 people were killed from mass shootings in America. In 2015, there were 333. In 2016, there were 383. In 2017, there were 346. (Gun Violence Archive)

THESE FIGURES ARE FROM FROM MASS SHOOTINGS ALONE. 

Compare this average of 333 Americans dying per year from mass shootings to an average of 157 Americans getting killed via any type of homicide, anywhere abroad, per year.

*mic drop*

Terrorism

Don’t even get me started on terrorism. I wasn’t even going to include information about it, but because a lot of my American acquaintances legitimately worry about me being affected by terrorism when I go abroad, I will just leave this little quote and chart comparing gun violence in America to terrorism deaths. (The amount of terrorism deaths abroad did not even make the article above, by the way).

“The US spends more than a trillion dollars per year defending itself against terrorism, which kills a tiny fraction of the number of people killed by ordinary gun crime.” BBC News

How the US Compares to Other Countries in Gun Violence

I’m sure you all know how much more insanely absurdly ridiculous the US is when it comes to gun violence and mass shootings compared to other high income countries. But if you don’t, why don’t you give this little article a gander. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWfxilXhRSC/?taken-by=kimmconn

Traveling solo in Croatia? Check. Getting abducted? No check. (I actually worked for 3 summers as a tour guide in Croatia)

Travel and Safety

PHEW. That was a little dose of knowledge now, wasn’t it? Now, let’s bring this convo back to travel for a minute.

Do you know how many people worldwide are traveling RIGHT NOW? Do you know how many Americans are staying in hostels and hotels all over the world, meeting people, exploring new countries, and NOT dying?!

Given the number and cause of travel deaths, a little bit of common sense can go a long way.

Put on your damn seatbelt. Use reputable transport and bus companies. Do your research. Don’t go in the water if you don’t know the current’s strength and direction (or if you can’t swim…). Do your research on good and bad areas of places you go. Do not go to bad areas for any reason. Stay in tourist populated areas. Don’t go to countries or areas that are in a literal civil war or are known for their high proportion of violence. Go on group tours. Don’t walk alone at night. Don’t go home with anyone from the bar. Try not to have expensive electronics on display in public. Don’t get too drunk. Don’t try unknown foreign drugs. And for god’s sake, don’t invite ‘nice’ men from the airport to take you to your accommodation (Does anyone remember that the only reason ‘Taken’ happened in the first place is because the girls were astonishingly idiotic in the first place?! I mean, Liam Neeson is a B0$$ either way, but I hate to say it… sometimes natural selection is at work here.)

Basically, I want to point out that the things that could get you killed overseas are largely preventable when you are smart. This is not to say that sometimes freak accidents don’t happen and people are in the wrong place at the wrong time. But by doing a lot of things, you can actively prevent yourself from higher risks of getting yourself killed.

On the other hand, things that could get you killed in America, are not as preventable. You could get killed at the movie theaters. At music festivals. YOU CAN (AND DO) GET KILLED AT SCHOOL?!?!

Using the same thread of common sense we use to prevent getting into dangerous situations abroad, we could make getting killed in America just as easily preventable. WITH GUN CONTROL.

NOT THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS. POLICY AND CHANGE.

You Are About Twice As Likely to Die in an American Mass Shooting than To Be Killed Overseas

Until America figures its sh*t out and does what every other country has done to prevent obscene gun violence, I will be chilling on a beach in Costa Rica, hiking in the mountains of Peru, exploring Argentinian Villages, and, according to statistics, most likely not dying. The odds are in my favor.

(And if you are the classic American who is probably wondering how the heck I can afford this, read this blog post right here). 

And no, I am not going to go to Honduras or Venezuela, which are in civil war. That common sense thing… it works.

I will probably move back to Australia after this trip, where I can easily get a working visa with a much higher minimum wage and free health insurance. Maybe I’ll meet my hott Aussie husband on the way, and stay forever. 😛 But in all reality, I’m outta here. You know what? I might even tell people I’m Canadian. Because this country is shameful to be a part of at this point in history. I absolutely DESPISE having ‘gun violence and Donald Trump’ conversations with other travelers when they find out I’m American, and I want to pioneer a new path for people who want to see the world and not live in fear of going to f***** school.

Spread the Word. Travel Does Not = Imminent Death

So, American travelers, send this to all those relatives, parents, and friends who seem to always worry about you going overseas. Share it on Facebook to prove to all those people whose mind framing went a bit to the wayside, the traveling is actually not only safer than you think, but technically, safer than being in America.

It’s all too often that travelers seem like a secret society in the US, and travel is seen as something unattainable. I’ll go into my concerns about the US and its vacation time/acceptability of travel compared to other countries in a different blog post. But all in all, travel is actually the best teacher of all, and absolutely should not be at the level of concern that it is in America. Do yourself a favor: save the travel worry and change it to worry for gun control policy change.

These statistics were retrieved and compared from my own online research, and cited within the text. Of course these comparisons may have their flaws, and you can take what you will from the imformation, but I don’t think you can ignore cold hard facts. I would love to hear your opinions – leave a comment below.

PS: if you want to stay tunes to find out if I do survive my next indefinite trip, follow me on instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest….