Which Countries See the Most Deaths Among U.S. Tourists

Every year, tens of millions of Americans pack their bags and head overseas. In 2024, just over 70 million U.S. citizens traveled internationally. Most come home with photos and memories. Some don’t come home at all. When Americans venture abroad for international adventures, hundreds of U.S. citizens meet unfortunate ends far from home each year, creating patterns that reveal which destinations pose the greatest risks. The data, drawn largely from the U.S. Department of State, paints a sobering picture of where those risks are highest – and why.

Mexico: The Country That Tops Every List

Mexico stands as the undisputed leader in U.S. citizen deaths abroad, accounting for 141 road traffic deaths alone between 2019 and 2021, representing 35% of all U.S. road traffic deaths overseas. The sheer volume of American visitors plays a major role in those numbers. In 2023 alone, 36.71 million Americans visited Mexico, drawn by stunning beaches and cultural experiences in places like Cancún and Tulum. Still, the numbers go beyond simple visitor math.

The violence statistics are equally stark, with over 68% of all homicide deaths of U.S. citizens abroad occurring in Mexico. Mexico faces a crisis of kidnappings, disappearances, and other criminal violence that has left over thirty thousand people dead each year since 2018, and in 2024, the national homicide rate was 23.3 per 100,000 people, with many of these deaths linked to organized crime. Cartel cells in tourist-heavy regions like Tulum and Playa del Carmen scout targets using hotel check-ins, social media activity, and personal interaction – and Americans with perceived wealth are seen as “low-risk, high-reward” ransom targets.

Thailand: The Deadliest Rate Per Visitor

Of those countries with a significant number of American visitors, Thailand has the highest rate of unnatural death, with 348 deaths since October 2002, despite relatively few Americans visiting the country. That rate per visitor is what makes Thailand stand out from the crowd. Thailand emerged as the second-highest country for U.S. deaths in recent State Department data, with reportedly 35 deaths in a 12-month period, including 12 suicides and 10 specifically attributed to motorcycles.

In the State Department file, motorcycle crashes are the biggest single category for Thailand in that period, followed by suicides and then smaller numbers tied to pedestrian incidents, drowning, and other accidents – a shape that makes unfortunate sense when placed beside the CDC’s warning that road traffic injuries, including motorcycle deaths, are among the biggest killers of U.S. citizens abroad. In the State Department dataset, motorcycle crashes are a major recurring theme, which aligns with long-running travel health guidance about road injury risk abroad – especially relevant in tourist areas where scooters feel like the easiest way to get around. The country’s laid-back party culture and cheap motorbike rentals continue to be a deadly combination for visiting Americans.

The Philippines: Where Homicide Leads the Count

In the Philippines, homicide emerges as the leading cause of death for Americans, with 12 reported murders out of 29 total deaths in one reporting period, making murder the most common cause – with the Philippines tying with Jamaica for second place in homicides of Americans, with 8 deaths apiece. It is a pattern that surprises many travelers who assume the tropical archipelago is simply a remote beach destination. The Philippines recorded 18 deaths in the State Department’s official January-to-June 2023 file, placing it ahead of several destinations that get more mainstream vacation attention in the U.S.

The listed entries show a blend of homicide, suicide, drowning, and multiple forms of vehicle accidents rather than one dominant mechanism driving the total – a scattered pattern that makes the Philippines harder to reduce to one simple travel-risk headline, with the data suggesting a broader spread of exposure. The Philippines ranks poorly on international safety indices, largely because of a high rate of terror-related incidents and kidnappings, and the combination of violent crime and transportation dangers makes it one of the riskiest destinations for American travelers when adjusted for visitor volume.

Costa Rica: Paradise With a Drowning Problem

In Costa Rica, drowning reportedly dominates the death statistics, with 17 of 31 deaths in one reporting period attributed to water-related incidents – and on a per-visitor basis, Costa Rica’s waters are more dangerous than Mexico’s, highlighting the fact that Costa Rica has no law requiring lifeguards on its beaches, and even those beaches with guards are often under-protected. The country’s wild surf zones and powerful rip currents catch tourists completely off guard. Vietnam, Costa Rica, and the Philippines each have substantial American deaths relative to the number of visitors – three to four times more than Mexico when adjusted for volume.

Similar to earlier research, studies find that the top causes of U.S. citizen death abroad are vehicular accidents, homicides, non-vehicular accidents, and suicides. Costa Rica fits that pattern in a specific way – its beaches are world-famous, but the Pacific coast in particular can be brutally unforgiving for swimmers not accustomed to ocean conditions. Water incidents and vehicle crashes are prominent categories across multiple countries, which mirrors a broader pattern in travel health guidance: injury deaths abroad often come from transportation and water exposure rather than rare, dramatic scenarios.

Haiti: A Country That Has Become No-Go Territory

Haiti, known for its vibrant culture and Caribbean beaches, has descended into chaos, with gang violence reaching unprecedented levels – and in March 2024, 230 Americans were airlifted out of the country after a gang rebellion took hold of major cities. The numbers behind that evacuation tell a broader story of collapse. At least 5,601 people were killed in Haiti last year as a result of gang violence, an increase of over 1,000 on the total killings for 2023, according to figures verified by the UN Human Rights Office.

Violent gangs control most of the Caribbean country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, with more than 5,600 people killed and thousands more injured or kidnapped in 2024 due to soaring levels of gang violence. Reportedly, up to 90% of Port-au-Prince is controlled by gangs. The U.S. State Department has maintained its highest-level travel advisory for Haiti, and the situation showed no meaningful improvement heading into 2025 and 2026. The 2024 death toll represented an increase of over 1,000 on the total killings for 2023, with a further 2,212 people injured and 1,494 kidnapped.