As summer approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, our thoughts turn to vacations and lazy days by the water. In the US alone, people from all over the world make 3.4 billion visits to its beaches each year. Globally, beaches drive tourism and generate economic impact. But thanks to decades of popular media, beach vacations can also evoke fears of shark attacks. And while dozens of shark attacks occur globally each year, they are less common, and are reported in more places, than you might expect.
This animated map shows reported shark attacks over the last 100 years. It explores data from the Shark Research Institute that tracks reported incidents from 1924 to 2024.
In the map, shades of blue highlight the bathymetry of Earth’s oceans. If you look closely, you can also see the dark silhouettes of sharks swimming around the basemap. Reported shark attacks are symbolized based on their outcome. Fatal attacks show up as bold, red triangles. Attacks that caused injury or had unknown outcomes appear as yellow and blue circles. In the bottom left, a legend shows the number of incidents in each category each year.
As time passes and attacks dot the map, a few interesting patterns emerge. Places normally associated with shark attacks (such as Australia and South Africa) do show a lot of activity. Still, reported incidents happen around the globe. Every continent, except Antarctica, shows shark attacks. They happen in places like Yemen, Alaska, or the UK. And while most shark attacks happen in coastal waters, the map shows inland shark attacks, particularly in the US. You can also see attacks in the open ocean.
At the end of the video, a hexbin map summarizes 100 years of incidents. Hot spots like Australia, South Africa, Brazil, and the coasts of the continental US and Hawaii stand out in bright yellows. A chart also shows how reported attacks have changed over time. While fatalities are steady, the number of reported attacks has risen since the late 1990s. This might reflect better reporting or just the growth of global populations. Either way, the map makes two things very clear: Shark attacks can happen in many different places. But they are still far less common (and less deadly) than decades of movies and television might have us believe.
More to Explore
- Take a deep dive into the journeys of whale sharks.
- Learn more about why sharks attack humans.
