Looking back as far as 1580, the U.S. is the number one shark attack hotspot is the world, a long way ahead of second-placed Australia with 1,483 and 652 attacks respectively. More countries with long (tropical) coastlines and islands appear on the list of places where swimmers and surfers should keep an eye out. South Africa and Brazil both recorded attacks in the triple digits, but more surprising nations also made the list compiled by the University of Florida and the Florida Museum. Iran, which has a 1,200-mile coastline on the Persian Gulf, recorded 23 shark attacks in the given timeframe.
The World's Shark Attack Hotspots
Nature
Description
This chart shows the number of confirmed unprovoked shark attacks, by location from 1580 to 2020.
