Drowning Statistics
In 2005 there 681 water-related fatalities, 435 of these are suspected accidental drownings, the majority of these occurring between May and July. Almost one third (120) of accidental drownings occurred after the victim slipped or fell in from the land or structures over water, the majority of these occurring at inland locations.
These figures are a result of collaboration between National Water Safety Forum members and aims to provide an idea of the level of water related fatalities in the UK. It provides a breakdown of all water-related fatalities for the UK.
2005 Suspected Accidental Drowning
This document provides an analysis of suspected accidental drownings for 2005. It looks at location and activity of victims, broken down into adults and children.
2005 Child Accidental Drowning
This document provides further detail and analysis into child drownings in the UK for 2005.
Data collection
Since 2003/4 the collection of data for these statistics has significantly changed. Previously data RoSPA collated was purely of accidental nature, and utilised two existing datasets (namely RoSPA and RLSS) however going forward water-related fatalities will be collected and reported. The change better reflects the size and nature of the problem facing organisation's mandated with managing water safety in the UK. It also has been driven by improved and new sources of information, better relationships as a result of work within the National Water Safety Forum.
Previous Statistics
| 2002 | Drowning statistics summary chart |  PDF 119kb |
| 2001 | Drowning statistics summary chart | PDF 128kb |
| 2000 | Drowning statistics summary chart | PDF 120kb |
Related Links
Research and discussion papers
Child Holiday Swimming Pool Safety
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