US Deaths Abroad
'Causes of non-natural deaths for US citizens abroad'
Notice of this US State Department study on 'Causes of non-natural deaths for US citizens abroad' was posted on SECUSS-L June 11 2004 - its source given as http://www.travel.state.gov/dsr.html
Subsequently, Lauren Johnson - lsjohnso@mail.ucf.edu - wrote to identify the full URL
http://travel.state.gov/deathreport.html [both links now inaccessible 15.10.08 - need to be updated]
This provides a useful preamble to the data - where it comes from and (a little) about those to whom it relates. But, please note - the data does *not* necessarily relate to 'travellers' and it does *not* mention whether *any* of these reported 'non-natural' deaths are of students. There is no reason to assume that, for instance, that these aren't all about the 'non-natural' deaths of US citizens resident abroad. Ambivalently, the preamble does include the phrase "Most American citizens who die abroad were resident abroad." - but doesn't indicate whether these are 'non-natural' deaths and are therefore included in the figures - or whether it is a useful contextual comment - i.e. "most US citizens who die abroad are resident abroad and die of 'natural causes' - i.e. this report relates to 'the rest'.
The site preamble reminds us why this data is collected ... (only this one report has been produced to date) and sheds more light on what the report covers - and what it doesn't. I quote from the site preamble -
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. The information is updated every six months.
Important Note: The table below should not be considered a statistically complete account of U.S. citizen deaths in foreign countries during the reporting period. The table includes only those deaths reported to the Department of State and for which information available to the Department establishes the death was by a non-natural cause. Most American citizens who die abroad were resident abroad. In some instances, it does not occur to surviving family members to inform the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate of the death. The report may not include some deaths of U.S. military or U.S. government officials. To accommodate privacy concerns the table omits identifying information.
The table excludes countries where, during the reporting period, no deaths met the above criteria.
I would be really grateful if anybody out there could offer assistance in interpreting the data - and, not least, helping me build some comparative material. I've taken the main tables from the State Department report and put them into an Excel database - so that anybody can now analyse the figures - notably, by 'cause of death' in each of the countries reported. I've posted the Excel file at this Web site so that you can copy it and explore further.
USCitizenDeathsAbroadOct02-Dec03.xls and related data on USTraveldata2002.xls
(I've also copied a piece I wrote for 'Transitions Abroad' (back in 1996) - on the over-stated 'dangers' deemed to be inherent in Study Abroad). See DangerAbroad.html
The State Department study is a remarkable piece of 'evidence' - but, at this stage, wide open to interpretation. I'm tempted to suggest that it confirms my own long-held conviction that the *least* dangerous places on earth for US citizens (and for most of us, in most countries) is 'abroad' - but would welcome further evidence and suggestions on interpretation. Not least, before you go to sleep filled with anxiety, please note that 99.99% of people die in their home country).
In summary, the 'most popular' causes of non natural death for US citizens abroad - (in the 15 month period October 1 2002 to December 31 2003, when there were 925 of such deaths) were ....
Vehicle Auto accidents - total 288 (cars 224, buses 8, Motorcycles 40, Pedestrians 10, 'other' 6); homicides 146, drowning accidents 114, suicides 103, terrorism 44 etc etc ....
To make sense and add perspective to this data we needs some background information and I wonder if you can help regarding sources?
1. With regard to the data given (in this 15 month accounting period) can you offer comparative US 'homeland' data? That is, we need to compare the number of US citizens who die 'abroad' of cause 'X' with the number who die at 'home' of that same cause. If the major causes of non-natural death abroad are 'motor vehicle accidents' what are the comparable figures for those who stayed home?
2. We need to know the total number of US citizens who are 'abroad' during the accounting period (and to distinguish whether they were 'residents' in those countries as compared with 'travellers') - and wonderful if we could get a further breakdown as to whether *any* of these were 'students'. (You will note that the data excludes US citizens abroad engaged in acts of war).
3. To make even more sense, it would be interesting to see whether 'cause of death abroad' ran parallel to 'local' causes of death in each of those countries. If the major cause of (natural) death in most countries of the world is 'old age' we need to know the major 'non natural' causes in each country - to see if visitors/travellers just share in the general (typical) experience, or whether their experiences are atypical. For sake of argument let's assume that all data relates to travellers/visitors. My guess is that the age profile of most travellers would be 'young' rather than old (probably true for visitors to the Swiss Alps, but not to judge so by Americans packed into Central London hotels). If the age/gender profile of visitors differs from the recipient country, then its likely that the two 'death profiles' are likely to differ also. If all visitors were young junkies then you would expect their lives to be short and brutish and that a death profile pattern - as below for dear old GB & NI - would not be too surprising. However, if all visitors were octogenarians then ....?
4. A further detail would identify whether 'victims' played any part in their own demise - e.g. in the mass of auto-related accidents , whether the victim was an 'innocent bystander' or the 'drunken driver' - and how soon after driving out of the Herz rental bay?
Here are the UK figures as a sample ...
GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
Date of Death Place of Death Cause of Death
October 02, 2002 A64 RD, BARTON CROSSROADS, MALTON, YORKSHIRE Veh. Accid.-Auto
October 06, 2002 WHIPPS CROSS HOSPITAL, LONDON Drug-Related
November 01, 2002 HARPENDEN, HERTS Suicide
November 03, 2002 A72 CARLISLE ROAD, FERNIEGAIR, SCOTLAND Veh. Accid. -Auto
January 31, 2003 WESTMINSTER, LONDON Homicide
February 03, 2003 VICTORIA PARK, LONDON Homicide
February 20, 2003 EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND Suicide
April 05, 2003 CHARING CROSS, LONDON Veh. Accid.-Pedestri.
June 09, 2003 WEARDLEY, LEEDS Vehic. Accident- Other
June 09, 2003 LONDON Suicide
June 14, 2003 QUEEN SQUARE, CAMDEN, LONDON Veh. Accid.- Pedestri.
July 06, 2003 FULHAM PALACE ROAD, LONDON Veh. Accid.-Auto
August 01, 2003 WANTAGE ROAD, NEWBURY, BERKSHIRE Veh. Accid.-Auto
September 02, 2003 WEST BRIDGFORD, NOTTINGHAM Suicide
Look at the full tables and you'll see that Mexico tops the league (265 deaths, nearly 30% of the total) ... but we need to relate figures of deaths to the total numbers going to/or resident in those countries. (For instance, my guess is that Mexico is the most visited 'foreign' place for Americans)?
However, I would like to turn these speculations into harder evidence. Please send me any sources or suggestions for interpretation. I've even asked the State Department to join in the further analysis - and promise to report back.
Mike / Mike Reddin / mike.reddin@virgin.net http://www.publicgoods.co.uk
ph: +44 20 8544 0324 or new mob: 07590 684363
******************
The original posting to SECUSS-L was as follows ....
-----Original Message-----
From: SECUSSA Discussion List [mailto:SECUSS-L@LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU] On Behalf Of Jill Holsen
Sent: 11 June 2004 16:56 To: SECUSS-L@LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU
Subject: Disc: US Citizen deaths abroad
Dear Colleagues:
I'd like to draw your attention to a report one of our professors dropped on my desk a few months ago. He was pleading his case about taking a group of students to Kenya despite the State Department's travel warning and wanted to show that no US citizens (civilians) had been killed in Kenya due to terrorist activity in the reporting period. The report is "U.S. Citizen Deaths from non-natural causes, by foreign country. Reporting period: October 01, 2002 to December 31, 2003." The web site location is http://www.travel.state.gov/dsr.html
I've been unable to find the report by going through the state department's home page, as there's so much information there (the professor is still in Kenya, but I can ask him when he returns). I'm not sure if there's any summary of the report elsewhere, which may give more details about some of the data. But if you haven't seen this report before, it may be of interest to you as you discuss risks and safety issues with your students.
Jill Holsen / Director, International Programs / Minnesota State University Moorhead
(218) 477-4389 : (218) 477-5928 - fax : holsenj@mnstate.edu
SECUSS-L Message