Global Shark Attack Statistics

Shark Data Lab aggregates the Global Shark Attack File — a record of 7,173 shark attacks across 121 countries. Browse country and year breakdowns below, or explore the interactive world map.

View interactive charts →Compare countries →

Total recorded

7,173

Fatal

1,521

Fatality rate

21.2%

Countries

121

Recorded incidents by year

Peak 143 (2015)Avg 50.6

190019632026

127 years of data, 1900–2026

Global shark attacks per year, 1900–2026
Year	Attacks
1900	13
1901	9
1902	15
1903	10
1904	14
1905	18
1906	21
1907	22
1908	13
1909	18
1910	14
1911	16
1912	14
1913	18
1914	18
1915	12
1916	25
1917	12
1918	5
1919	14
1920	15
1921	12
1922	22
1923	21
1924	19
1925	14
1926	21
1927	19
1928	26
1929	38
1930	26
1931	29
1932	27
1933	22
1934	28
1935	32
1936	32
1937	30
1938	24
1939	25
1940	24
1941	27
1942	41
1943	28
1944	31
1945	16
1946	26
1947	30
1948	29
1949	31
1950	43
1951	32
1952	29
1953	36
1954	45
1955	43
1956	51
1957	41
1958	54
1959	93
1960	93
1961	78
1962	86
1963	61
1964	66
1965	51
1966	58
1967	48
1968	47
1969	30
1970	42
1971	30
1972	36
1973	27
1974	39
1975	49
1976	39
1977	26
1978	26
1979	25
1980	36
1981	49
1982	42
1983	50
1984	41
1985	37
1986	39
1987	35
1988	56
1989	53
1990	39
1991	39
1992	56
1993	56
1994	57
1995	76
1996	61
1997	57
1998	65
1999	66
2000	97
2001	92
2002	88
2003	92
2004	92
2005	103
2006	103
2007	113
2008	122
2009	120
2010	101
2011	128
2012	117
2013	122
2014	126
2015	143
2016	133
2017	141
2018	124
2019	114
2020	101
2021	111
2022	98
2023	110
2024	54
2025	82
2026	93

Peak year: 143; 2015
Average / year: 50.6; 1900–2026
Latest (2026): 93; -30% vs 2016
Earliest (1900): 13; On record

Top countries by recorded incidents

Country	Recorded incidents
United States	2,615
Australia	1,567
South Africa	600
Papua New Guinea	152
New Zealand	147
Bahamas	142
Brazil	126
Mexico	107
Italy	73
New Caledonia	70

Most frequently identified species

Browse by country

Every country with at least 10 recorded incidents has its own page.

Browse by year

Year-in-review pages for every year since 1950.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many shark attacks have ever been recorded?

The Global Shark Attack File contains 7,173 recorded shark attacks across 121 countries, of which 1,521 were fatal (21.2%).

Which country has the most shark attacks?

United States has the most recorded shark attacks at 2,615, followed by Australia (1,567) and South Africa (600).

Which shark species attack humans most often?

Across all recorded incidents, the species most frequently identified are White Shark, Tiger Shark, Bull Shark, Nurse Shark, Blacktip Shark. Note that species identification in the source records is not always reliable.

Where does this data come from?

All figures are derived from the Global Shark Attack File (GSAF), a non-profit database of shark-human incident records. Shark Data Lab cleans, geocodes, and aggregates the GSAF dataset for analysis.

Is the data on this site up to date?

The most recent update to the dataset was on 2026-06-19. We re-import from GSAF on an ongoing basis.

Global Shark Attack Statistics

Recorded incidents by year

Top countries by recorded incidents

Most frequently identified species

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Frequently Asked Questions