What’s The #1 Non-Natural Cause Of Death For Americans in the Last Three Years?

American Deaths in Costa Rica in the Last Three Years – 27 drownings, 13 car accidents and only 12 homicides

U.S. Department of State – Information on Deaths Abroad of U.S. Citizens

Sec. 204(c) of P.L. 107-228, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003, mandates that, to the maximum extent practicable, the Department of State collect and make available on the Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site certain information with respect to each United States citizen who dies in a foreign country from a non-natural cause.

“The information required is: (1) the date of death; (2) the locality where the death occurred; and (3) the cause of death, including, if the death resulted from an act of terrorism, a statement disclosing that fact. The information on the web site must be listed on a country-by-country basis, and must cover deaths occurring since the date of enactment of the legislation on September 30, 2002, or occurring during the preceding three calendar years, whichever period is shorter.”

In the list below we have included the most recent data available which is from January 2005 to December 2007 and lists countries where US tourists can be found rather than countries that the US has attacked and invaded like Iraq and Afghanistan:

1. Bahamas = 36
2. Belize = 24
3. Brazil = 30
4. Canada = 35
5. China = 48
6. Colombia = 30
7. Costa Rica = 75. Drownings 27, car accidents 13, 12 homicides plus…
8. Dominican Republic = 43 with 13 homicides
9. France = 22
10. Germany = 72
11. Great Britain = 21
12. Greece = 28
13. Guatemala =31
14. Honduras = 40 with 18 homicides
15. India = 20
16. Israel = 28
17. Italy = 35
18. Jamaica = 20
19. Japan = 20
20. Korea Republic = 22
21. Mexico = 667 with 126 homicides
22. Nicaragua = 14
23. Panama = 17
24. Philippines = 43 with 23 homicides
25. Spain = 35
26. Thailand = 70
27. Vietnam = 26

In summary, during the three year period of January 2005 to December 2007 the number one cause of violent death for US citizens in Costa Rica was drowning which took the lives of 27 Americans, 13 died in car accidents, there were just 12 homicides (two of those Americans were murdered by other Americans), 8 suicides, 7 died in plane accidents plus a few “drug-related deaths” and “other accidents”.

The complete data can be found at the U.S. Department of State – Information on Deaths Abroad of U.S. Citizens.

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Written by Scott Oliver, author of How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa and Costa Rica’s Guide To Making Money Offshore.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew 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.