Research

Deaths from drowning: The facts

Apr 21, 2025
Ravan Hawrami, Richard Reeves
A group of young men getting ready to jump off a bridge into a river.

Summary

With the summer months approaching, it’s important to stay safe around water. Like with other injury deaths, across the board, boys and men are more likely to die by drowning. The gender gap in drowning deaths can be attributed to a number of causes, including risk-taking behavior. Small actions during the summer, like closer supervision of children or swimming with others rather than alone, can help prevent potential drownings.

Key takeaways

  • Men have consistently been at higher risk of drowning. The unintentional drowning death rate for men and women in 2023 was about 2 and 0.6 per 100,000, respectively.
  • Men are more likely to drown across all age groups, with the gap widest among young men. Drowning is the leading cause of death for both boys and girls ages 1 to 4.
  • Men are more likely to drown across race, with men being about three times to five times more likely to die by drowning.

Contents

Introduction
Boys and men at higher risk
Staying safe this summer

Summer is coming, and along with it plenty of outdoor activities. Play is good. But it is important to be aware of associated risks too, including drowning.

The summer months are when drowning deaths peak, especially for boys and men, as figure 1 shows. In July 2023, 540 men and 160 women died from unintentional drowning.

 

Figure 1

DATA NOTE

Data used in this research brief was primarily taken from CDC WISQARS (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System), which collects data on fatal injuries by various demographic characteristics over time. Monthly drowning data was collected from the CDC Provisional Mortality Statistics through CDC WONDER. Drownings include water transport-related incidents.

 

There is a big gender gap in the risk of death from drowning. In 2023, there were about 4,300 unintentional drownings in the United States, with boys and men making up 76% of these deaths. This is consistent with the greater risk of death shown in our earlier work from a range of injuries and causes including suicide, homicide, and drug overdose.

Unlike other injury deaths like drug overdoses, drownings have not noticeably increased in recent years. In 2001, the age-adjusted unintentional drowning rate per 100,000 population for men and women was 2 and 0.5, respectively; in 2023, the rates were 2 and 0.6. While we should try our best to prevent drownings for both men and women, the disproportionate risk for boys and men merits closer scrutiny—both to raise awareness and to guide prevention efforts more effectively.

Boys and men at higher risk

Drowning deaths vary considerably by age, with the oldest men at the highest relative risk, as figure 2 shows.

 

Figure 2

The risks are broadly similar for girls and women—highest at the tails of the age range—but the gender gap is widest among young men and women: men aged 10-19 are almost six times as likely to unintentionally drown compared to their female peers, while men aged 20-29 are at five times higher risk. This is consistent with higher risk-taking in this age group.

But it is important to note that there is a noticeable gap even in earliest ages: even among children under 10, boys are twice as likely to drown as girls—around 2 and 1 per 100,000, respectively. In fact, drowning is the second leading injury death for boys younger than 10 years, as shown in figure 3. Among 1-4 year-olds, drowning is the leading cause of death for both boys and girls, and still twice as high for boys.

 

Figure 3

Rates of drowning vary by race, with especially high risks for the American-Indian/Alaska-Native population, as shown in figure 4. The gender gap is fairly consistent across racial groups, with boys and men being about three times to five times more likely to die by drowning, compared to women of the same race.

 

Figure 4

Staying safe this summer

The gender gap in drowning deaths is not limited to the United States, implying more widespread causes. The gap can attributed to a number of causes, most notably:

  • Risk-taking behavior: In general, men are more likely to engage in risky behavior, which can be seen by the significantly larger number of male injury deaths. Regarding drowning specifically, boys and men are more likely to report swimming in natural bodies of water, swimming at night, and swimming alone.
  • Alcohol usage: Alcohol use was involved in about 70% of water recreational deaths. Furthermore, men are more likely to have drank alcohol during their aquatic activity.
  • Exposure: Boys and men are more likely to report aquatic activity and activity involving submersion under water than women and girls, giving more scope for accidents.

There are various ways for parents and other adults to lower the likelihood of drowning. Simple actions like close supervision of children, wearing a life jacket and using a buddy system when swimming can help prevent accidents. Avoiding alcohol and paying close attention to the effects of certain prescribed drugs can also help.

It is important not to overstate the risks. The overall age-adjusted death rate from drowning is about 1.3 per 100,000, compared to about 13 deaths per 100,000 for deaths related to motor vehicle accidents. Nonetheless it is good for us all, including parents, to be aware of the risks, especially for boys and men.

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