Deaths of U.S. Citizens Abroad in Costa Rica – State Department confirms more Americans die by drowning and suicide than any other cause. Shark attacks, crocodile attacks and Zika are NOT even mentioned.
As you will know by now I have a problem with the way news is often reported and where possible try to show the other side of the story when other sources insist on only reporting the negative news.
Maybe it’s because I have zero training in journalism but it seems to me that when you tell a story that it should be somewhat balanced.
When you write about jobs being lost in Costa Rica, you should also mention that there are also thousands of much higher paid jobs being filled than there are being lost.
As an example, you might remember the Canadian ‘The Recorder & Times’ who reported on the unfortunate 2009 death by drowning of a Canadian lawyer in Costa Rica.
The headline reads: Local lawyer killed in Costa Rica.
Maybe Canadians have a different concept of being ‘killed’ but I would like to politely suggest that a more appropriate title might have been ‘Local lawyer drowns in Costa Rica’ or maybe ‘Local lawyer dies in Costa Rica’ or ‘Local lawyer dies in surf accident in Costa Rica.’
Wouldn’t you agree?
But most newspapers love to make things look worse than they really are and that also applies to some of the English language ‘news’ sources here in Costa Rica.
If you check the Deaths of U.S. Citizens Abroad statistics compiled by the US Department of State for the ten year period from January 2006 – December 2015 you will see that death by drowning is the number one cause of death for US citizens in Costa Rica.
During this ten year period, according to the U.S. State Department, 264 US citizens died in Costa Rica, 89 of them drowned, 44 committed suicide and 35 were murdered and it should be noted that a few of them were murdered by fellow Americans and no doubt most of them were involved in the sale or transportation of illegal drugs…
Compared to the number of tourists from the US who drown at the beach in Costa Rica, the number of people living here who die a violent death is tiny…
Please don’t take my word for it, download the file and check it out for yourself!
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But what if I get attacked by a shark while swimming in Costa Rica?
It’s extremely unlikely that you will be attacked by a shark while swimming or surfing. According to SharkAttackData.com, there have been only ten reported shark attacks in Costa Rica since 1919.
Looking at comprehensive data collected since 1580, over 430 years, we can track the instances of shark attacks per country.
The United States leads the way with 1,022 attacks, then Australia where 689 attacks have occurred, followed by Africa with 326 attacks.
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Didn’t I read that an American surfer was attacked by a crocodile in Costa Rica?
A local Tamarindo Realtor and avid surfer tells me that: “This unfortunate incident was caused by the fisherman feeding the gators with fish guts and heads. They know better. People have asked them to stop, posted signs but they just keep doing it.”
Thankfully he did survive but it’s very important to note that this is so rare that there is no available data on crocodile attacks on people in Costa Rica although, you can find the details of crocodile attacks (351) and shark attacks (509) on people only in Florida here.
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What would happen if I get bitten by a mosquito in Costa Rica that’s carrying the Zika virus?
First of all, according to the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), “Many people infected with Zika virus won’t have symptoms or will only have mild symptoms.”
“Zika is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week. People usually don’t get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika.”
And: “What proof is there that the Zika virus is causing birth defects in babies? I’ll tell you: no proof. Zero.”
“In the ten year period of Deaths of U.S. Citizens Abroad statistics compiled by the US Department of State, not one single U.S. citizen was recorded as dying of a shark attack, a crocodile attack or the dreaded Zika virus!” Scott Oliver.
Take a good, hard look around and you’ll find that Costa Rica remains a very safe and attractive place to live with extremely low crime rates in most areas and just happens to be a great place to live, retire and invest in real estate.
Written by Scott Oliver, author of 1: How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa, 2: Costa Rica’s Guide To Making Money Offshore and 3. ¿Cómo Comprar Bienes Raíces en Costa Rica, Sin Perder Su Camisa?
Andrew Makarik
to@welovecostarica.comAndrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.
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