Published: 19:00 BST, 25 August 2026 | Updated: 19:00 BST, 25 August 2026
Australia is often regarded as the 'critter capital' of the world.
But a surprising new study has revealed that when it comes to snake attacks, Australia pales in comparison to dozens of other countries.
Scientists from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine have revealed the countries where the most incidents occur every year.
Overall, they estimate that between 2.1 and 7 million people experience snake bites – also known as 'envenomings' – each year.
Sadly, between 274,000 and 513,000 of these incidents prove deadly.
India tops the list as the world's snake attack capital, with up to 1.3 million attacks every year, ahead of Nigeria (666,000), Indonesia (490,000), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (467,000).
'Low–income countries exhibit the highest incidence and mortality rates, with sub–Saharan Africa accounting for 45% of global envenomings and deaths, nearly three times the incidence observed in South Asia,' the researchers explained.
'These estimates suggest that previous burden estimates could substantially underestimate the scale of the problem.'
Scientists from the Liverpool School of Tropical medicine have revealed the countries where the most incidents occur every year
While snakes are some of the most feared creatures around the world, the true extent of their attacks has remained unclear until now.
In recent years, several terrifying snake attacks have hit the headlines.
Last year, a grandmother was found swallowed whole inside a snake in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, with footage showing the python's stomach appearing to wiggle.
And in 2025, unsettling scenes from Brazil showed a man writing in pain after a snake bit his penis.
Writing in their study, published in PLOS Medicine, the researchers, led by Dr Dileepa Ediriweera, said: 'Snake envenoming (SE) remains an important public health problem.
