Matters of Scale - Threats to Security
When 3,000 people died in the "9-11" attacks, Americans went into deep shock and declared that "the
world has changed." Here's how that event compares with some other recent and ongoing causes of
death and destabilization in the United States and in other countries. All figures are approximate.
In the United States . . .
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Killed by cigarette smoking, per year, on average | 430,700 |
Killed by obesity, per year, on average | 300,000 |
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Killed by motor vehicle accidents, per year, on average | 43,200 |
Killed by guns (other than in war) per year, on average | 34,000 |
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Killed by adverse reactions to prescription drugs, per year, on average | 32,000 |
Killed by suicide in 1998 | 30,575 |
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Killed by accidental falls, per year | 14,900 |
Killed by accidental poisoning, per year | 8,600 |
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Killed by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, per year | 7,600 |
Killed by drownings, per year | 4,000 |
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Killed by choking on ingested objects, per year | 3,000 |
Killed by the September 11 attacks in 2001 | 3,000 |
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In Other Countries . . .
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Sudan: Killed in the ongoing civil war | 2,000,000 |
Cambodia: Killed by the Khmer Rouge massacre in 1975-78 | 1,700,000 |
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Congo: Killed in the ongoing war | 1,700,000 |
Guatemala: Killed in army massacre of 400 Mayan villages in 1981-82 | 200,000 |
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Cambodia: Killed by U.S. secret bombings in 1970-73 | 150,000 |
China: Killed by pesticide suicides of despairing farmers, per year | 125,000 |
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Japan: Killed by two atomic bombs dropped by U.S. planes in 1945 | 103,000 |
United Kingdom: Killed by obesity, per year, on average | 30,000 |
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India: Killed by the Bhopal chemical spill in 1985 and aftermath | 20,000 |
India: Killed by venomous snakes, per year, on average | 10,000 |
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Brazil: Killed by malaria, each year | 8,000 |
Bosnia: Killed by Serbian army massacres of Bosnian Muslim prisoners | 7,000 |
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Sources: Cigarettes, obesity, and suicide: U.S. Centers for Disease Control; motor vehicle accidents: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; guns and drug abuse: National Center for Health Statistics; prescription drugs: Annals of Internal Medicine; falls, poisonings, and choking: National Safety Council; Sudan civil war and Congo war: State of the World 2002; Cambodia genocide and bombing: St. Petersburg Times; Guatemala massacre: BBC News; China pesticide suicides: Reuters; Japan atomic bombs: Uranium Information Center, Ltd (Australia); Bhopal: CorpWatch India; Brazil malaria and India snakes: World Health Organization; Bosnia massacres: "Massacre in Srebrenica," www.haverford.edu.