This Is the Single Deadliest Animal on Earth, According to Data
Statistics show these animals are responsible for the most human deaths per year.
The countless creatures that make up the Earth's animal kingdom often appear as ferocious as they do fascinating. But while coming face-to-face with a great white shark or a deadly cobra is a terrifying scenario for most of us to imagine, the truth of the matter is that even the scariest looking beasts roaming the world's wildest terrain or sleekly swimming through its vast oceans are rarely out to hurt people—at least not for the sport of it, that is. Something that, unfortunately, definitely can't be said for human beings. Still, we wanted to see which animals kill the most humans in an average year. To get that information, we consulted a blog post written by Bill Gates—yes, that Bill Gates—in which he presented an infographic of the world's deadliest animals, based on data from the World Health Organization and several other sources. And it turns out, the deadliest animal is much smaller than you'd expect. Read on to find out the deadliest animals to humans around the world, based on how many people they kill on average each year.
15
Sharks
Deaths per year: 6
14
Wolves
Deaths per year: 10
13
Lions
Deaths per year: 22
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12
Elephants
Deaths per year: 500
11
Hippopotamuses
Deaths per year: 500
10
Tapeworms
Deaths per year: 700
9
Crocodiles
Deaths per year: 1,000
8
Ascaris roundworms
Deaths per year: 4,500
7
Tsetse flies
Deaths per year: 10,000
6
Assassin bugs
Deaths per year: 12,000
5
Freshwater snails
Deaths per year: Over 20,000
4
Dogs
Deaths per year: 35,000
3
Snakes
Deaths per year: 100,000
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2
Humans
Deaths per year: 437,000
1
Mosquitoes
Deaths per year: 750,000
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