Calming Loved Ones with Statistics
From 1990 to 1999, Americans made about 190 million trips overseas. During that time (according to the State Department's counterterrorism office), fewer than 90 Americans were killed by terrorists. In 2000, Western Europe had the largest decline in international terrorist incidents of any region in the world. Since then, no Americans in Europe have been killed by terrorists. *
Chance of an American overseas being killed by a terrorist: 1 in 2,200,000
Chance of being hit by lightning: 1 in 600,000
Chance you'll be killed by a fire this year: 1 in 70,900
Chance you'll be killed by a gun this year: 1 in 18,900
Deaths per year in the U.S.:
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43,600 in car accidents
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14,000 by handguns (vs. less than 100 a year in Britain, France, or Germany)
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3,200 choking on food
While the attacks of September 11 killed about 3,000 Americans within our country, statistically, the safety of Americans in Europe has not changed. Twelve million Americans enjoyed safe and happy European travels last year.
*The 2004 bombing in Madrid injured xxx Americans. The 2005 bombing in the London subway injured xxx Americans. Still, each year over 12 million Americans visit Europe. Whether or not to take this risk is up to each traveler.
(Sources: National Safety Council, Tourism Industries-Department of Commerce, and U.S. Department of State)