Statistics: UK accidental drowning fatalities by water body type
Feb 08, 2022This statistical bulletin combines UK accidental drowning fatality data with waterbody type as published by the UK Water Incident Database.
Trends in waterbody type
- 75% of fatal drownings in the UK occur at inland water sites, with 15% at coastal sites and less than 10% at pools or in residential settings.
- 35 in every 100,000 people drown at inland water sites.
- The proportion of drowning fatalities at inland water sites has fallen from 80% to 78% based on a three-year average from 2013-2015 to 2018-2020.
- The safest place to swim is a swimming pool.
- Coastal drownings have seen the largest reduction in overall prevalence between 2013 and 2020.
- Drownings in quarries, reservoirs, canals and the sea have seen the greatest decline in overall drowning fatality numbers between 2013 and 2020.
- Drownings in rivers, swimming pools, ponds, and coastal edges have proved more resistant to a reduction in overall numbers.
Interactive dashboard
GREEN = Positive change; RED = Negative change
Table 1: UK drowning fatalities by year and waterbody type as reported by the UK WAID
| Waterbody type | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | Total | % | % Change (2013 vs 2020) |
Rate of injury per 100,000 people in 2022 |
| Coastal | 137 | 132 | 144 | 126 | 103 | 97 | 98 | 101 | 101 | 86 | 1,125 | 38 | -125 | 0.13 |
| Inland | 220 | 179 | 155 | 140 | 132 | 150 | 115 | 132 | 165 | 124 | 1,512 | 56 | -133 | 0.19 |
| Pool | 6 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 44 | 1 | -16 | 0.00 |
| Residential | 18 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 7 | 17 | 9 | 13 | 141 | 5 | -10 | 0.02 |
Table 2: UK drowning statistics by year, waterbody, and waterbody type as reported by the UK WAID
| Waterbody | Waterbody type | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | Total | % | % Change 2013- 2020 | Rate of injury per 100,000 people |
| At sea | Coastal | 22 | 14 | 26 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 136 | 4 | -34 | 0.01 |
| Bath, jacuzzis or hot-tub | Residential | 8 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 83 | 3 | -5 | 0.03 |
| Canal or aqueduct | Inland | 32 | 32 | 22 | 28 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 16 | 29 | 19 | 242 | 8 | -22 | 0.03 |
| Coast, shore, or beach | Coastal | 93 | 102 | 95 | 93 | 68 | 73 | 78 | 85 | 81 | 68 | 836 | 31 | -56 | 0.10 |
| Drain, well, pit | Inland | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 1 | -5 | 0.00 |
| Dry ground | Inland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +3 | 0.00 |
| Harbour, dock, marina, or port | Coastal | 22 | 16 | 23 | 20 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 153 | 3 | -35 | 0.02 |
| Lake, loch, lough | Inland | 29 | 29 | 23 | 28 | 27 | 36 | 20 | 24 | 37 | 34 | 287 | 13 | +14 | 0.05 |
| Marsh | Inland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -2 | 0.00 |
| Pond | Residential | 10 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 53 | 2 | -7 | 0.01 |
| Swimming pool | Pool | 6 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 44 | 1 | -16 | 0.00 |
| Quarry | Inland | 11 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 0 | -22 | 0.00 |
| Reservoir | Inland | 6 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 45 | 2 | -6 | 0.00 |
| River | Inland | 124 | 85 | 86 | 70 | 64 | 74 | 62 | 73 | 76 | 57 | 771 | 27 | -89 | 0.09 |
| Stream, ditch, burn | Inland | 12 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 104 | 4 | -4 | 0.01 |
| Water Container | Residential | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | +2 | 0.00 |
References
UK Water Safety Forum. 2009-20. Annual reports and data. Available at: https://www.nationalwatersafety.org.uk/waid/annual-reports-and-data accessed 8th February 2022.
Citation. Jacklin, D. 2022. UK statistics of drowning fatalities by water body type. Water Incident Research Hub, 6th February.
