The US had the most shark attacks last year
The US had the most shark attacks last year
A RECENT study found that the US experienced the most shark attacks in the world last year, surprisingly beating out Australia and South Africa.

The study by Florida Panhandle found that the US had 46 attacks in 2020, far and away the greatest of any country, with Australia coming in second with 30 attacks and the Bahamas third with just four attacks.

However, the fatality rate of the attacks was just 6.5 percent in the US, while a whopping 30 percent of Australian attacks were fatal.

Additional insights provided by the study include that 95 percent of shark attacks are unprovoked, and are most likely in the afternoon and on a Sunday.

Surprisingly, although the Great White Shark - the iconic species of the Jaws movie series - had the most attacks, its fatality rate was lower than that of the Tiger Shark.

The Great White had 19 attacks with a 31.6 percent fatality rate, while the Tiger's had seven with a 57.1 percent fatality rate.

The US had the most shark attacks of any country
© Florida PanhandleThe US had the most shark attacks of any country.
Unsurprisingly, the Great White Shark had the most attacks.
© Florida PanhandleUnsurprisingly, the Great White Shark had the most attacks.
According to the site, sharks can swim 30 mph, which seems relatively slow until it's put next to Michael Phelps' top speed of 4.7 mph.

While you might be alarmed at these seemingly high statistics, the survey assures viewers that the actual likelihood of experiencing a shark attack is still comfortingly low.

"In the United States, your approximate chances of being attacked are one in 5,000,000 while in Australia the chances are one in 2,000,000," the study reads.

In fact, according to the site, it's more likely that you would die from a champagne cork.

"Humans have a higher chance of being killed by a flying champagne cork, accidental poisoning, or lightning," it states.

David Angotti, the founder of the site, also gave a word of reassurance in a comment to the Penn Live Patriot-News.

"When you look at the aggregated data, it is quickly apparent that the chances of being attacked by a shark are nearly zero.