Snakebite is the deadliest neglected tropical disease — and we still can’t agree on how many it kills. Most victims are farmers and children, bitten far from a clinic, and many die without ever being recorded.
5.4M
People bitten by snakes every year · WHO
Of those, 1.8–2.7 million are envenomed, 81,410–137,880 die, and about three times as many are left with amputations or other permanent disability.
01 / The count
How many die? Somewhere between 63,000 and half a million
Each estimate counts something different. Death surveys catch bodies that were recorded; models try to fill in the places where no one is counting.
A 2026 PLoS Medicine model puts sub-Saharan Africa at 45% of global snakebite deaths. The 2019 GBD study put it at about 11% (6,790 of 63,400). The two pictures of who is dying are far apart. Over half of countries with venomous snakes have no solid data at all.
02 / Where
A poor-world disease, concentrated in South Asia
By the GBD count, South Asia carried 86% of snakebite deaths in 2019, and India alone 51,100. In the US, 7,000–8,000 bites a year end in about 5 deaths.
Death rate, 2019 · age-standardised deaths per 100,000 (schematic)
>3 deaths / 100k1.2–1.4<1 or not shown
Deaths per 100,000 · 2019
Somalia4.5
India4.0
South Asia3.4
W. Africa (SSA)1.4
C. Africa (SSA)1.3
E. Africa (SSA)1.2
World0.8
USA*≈0.002
Deaths, 2019 · highest-count countries
India51,100
Pakistan2,070
Nigeria1,460
DR Congo545
Ethiopia499
Kenya349
*USA: crude rate derived from CDC’s “about 5 deaths a year” ÷ ~335 million people, so it isn’t age-standardised like the other bars. Shown to give the scale.
03 / The trend
Falling, but nowhere near fast enough
The global death rate fell 36% from 1990 to 2019. On the GBD forecast it falls only 8.6% more by 2030. The WHO goal is to halve deaths. Because of population growth, the forecast for 2050 is 68,800 deaths a year, more than in 2019.
IndiaWorldForecast
Age-standardised deaths per 100,000, GBD 2019. *World 1990 (≈1.25) is derived from the reported 0.8 rate and 36% decline. *WHO goal marker = half the 2019 rate; it illustrates the target and isn’t a GBD output.
04 / When & who
The monsoon brings the snakes — and the deaths
India’s Million Death Study found that snakebite deaths peak when rain floods burrows and farmers are working in the paddies, often barefoot and at night.
Snakebite deaths per day in India · 2000–2019
February78/day
Jun–Sep monsoon294/day
Deaths per day are 3.8× higher in the monsoon than in February.
Concentration
Share of deaths70%
Share of people55%
Eight high-burden states hold 55% of India’s people but 70% of its snakebite deaths. Most deaths happen at home, in rural areas, and over a quarter are children under 15.
05 / The stakes
What one bite costs
Snakebite rarely makes the news, but it costs millions of healthy years and leaves many survivors disabled for life.
1 in 250
Indians are likely to die of snakebite before age 70. In the highest-burden areas it is 1 in 100. (Million Death Study)
2.94M
Years of life lost to snakebite in 2019, which makes it the deadliest neglected tropical disease. (GBD 2019)
~3×
as many amputations and permanent disabilities as deaths every year. (WHO)
What you can do · why it matters
A treatable emergency, if the antivenom is close enough
Get to a hospital, fast. Antivenom works best when it is given early. Survival depends on how quickly someone reaches care, not on home remedies.
Skip the myths. WHO advises against cutting, sucking or tight tourniquets. Keep the person still, remove rings and tight items, and get them to a hospital.
Prevent the bite. Wear boots, carry a torch at night, and sleep off the floor under a net, which protects against kraits that bite at night.
Back the count. Support death-surveillance and antivenom programmes. Better data is how Africa’s hidden burden gets funded.
Sources & notes
World Health Organization, “Snakebite envenoming” fact sheet (updated Sept 2023): 5.4M bites, 1.8–2.7M envenomings, 81,410–137,880 deaths, ~3× disabilities; first-aid guidance.
GBD 2019 Snakebite Envenomation Collaborators, “Global mortality of snakebite envenoming between 1990 and 2019,” Nature Communications 13:6160 (2022): 63,400 deaths (UI 38,900–78,600); 2.94M YLLs; −36% rate since 1990; South Asia 54,600 deaths (86%), 3.4/100k; W/C/E sub-Saharan Africa 1.4/1.3/1.2; SSA 6,790 deaths; India 51,100, 7.3→4.0/100k; Pakistan 2,070; Nigeria 1,460; DRC 545; Ethiopia 499; Kenya 349; Somalia 4.5/100k; 2030 −8.6%; 2050 forecast 0.7/100k, 68,800 deaths.
Suraweera W. et al., “Trends in snakebite deaths in India from 2000 to 2019 in a nationally representative mortality study,” eLife (2020): 1.2M deaths (avg 58,000/yr); 1-in-250 lifetime risk (1 in 100 in high-burden areas); 294 deaths/day Jun–Sep vs 78 in Feb; 70% of deaths in 8 states with ~55% of population; over a quarter of deaths under age 15.
Ediriweera D.S. et al., PLoS Medicine 23(8):e1005201 (2026): geostatistical model of ≥2.1M envenomings and ≥274,000 deaths/yr (high scenario 7M and 513,000); sub-Saharan Africa 46% of envenomings, 45% of deaths.
CDC / NIOSH, “Venomous Snakes”: 7,000–8,000 people bitten in the US each year, about 5 die.
WHO, “Snakebite envenoming: a strategy for prevention and control” (2019): goal to halve deaths and disability by 2030.
Modelled or derived figures (*): the 274,000 and 513,000 deaths are model outputs, not counts. The world 1990 rate (≈1.25) is derived from the reported 2019 rate and decline. The WHO-goal marker (≈0.4) is illustrative, half the 2019 rate. The US rate is a crude figure derived from CDC numbers. The map is schematic and shows GBD regional rates only. All rates are age-standardised GBD 2019 values unless noted.