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Countries With The Most Venomous Animals

March 3, 2023 36 Comments

Number of venomous animals in countries around the world

Map by reddit user lanson15

Which country has the most venomous animals? Surprisingly, it’s not Australia but Mexico with 80, followed by Brazil with 79 and then Australia with just 66 (they just happen to be more potent). So how is venomous defined here?

Reddit user lanson15 used the Living Hazards Database from the Armed Forces Pest Management Board, which “… is a comprehensive compilation of more than 500 species worldwide, which are reported to cause serious injury or death of humans.”

In addition to the top 3 countries above, Colombia, India, Indonesia and Vietnam all have over 50 different species apiece. Europe, Central Asia and Canada are at the other extreme, with fewer than 10 species per country. And if you’re wondering about France, it’s because it includes French Guiana, which is considered an overseas department of France.

Generally speaking warmer places have more venomous species than colder places, although there are some interesting exceptions to this rule such as the Caribbean, Western Sahara, Madagascar, Bhutan and Lesotho, to name a few.

So if you make your travel plans based around how likely you are to get bitten by a snake or spider, you now have a map of which countries to visit and which to avoid.

Wonder how this looks in the United States:

Number of Venomous animals in America

Map by reddit user lanson15

Similar to the global trend, warmer Southern States have more venomous species than North States. Arizona is the clear winner (or loser) with over 30 species.

Want to learn more about venomous animals? Then have a look at the following books:

  • Venomous Reptiles and Their Toxins: Evolution, Pathophysiology and Biodiscovery
  • Toxic: Incredible Pictures and Fun Facts about the Most Poisonous Animals in the World
  • A Field Guide to Venomous Animals and Poisonous Plants: North America North of Mexico

Would you avoid a country because it had too many venomous animals? Tell us in the comment section below:

Filed Under: World Maps Tagged With: animal

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Comments

  1. Anuj Shinde says

    May 7, 2015 at 10:07 am

    Instead i will try to visit those countries…i love Venomous Snakes 🙂

    Reply
    • Baloo says

      January 24, 2019 at 3:12 am

      Australia has only 66 poisonous animals is wrong. In snakes alone we have over 100 venomous species and adding sea creatures to the list Australia has over 300 varieties of venomous species and over 150 of them are deadly. We are taught this from young at school especially in the northern country towns it’s called survival

      Reply
      • Roger barnett says

        June 9, 2019 at 4:39 pm

        Your so right ballot

        Reply
      • Big hoo says

        August 9, 2019 at 7:42 am

        And Australia would have less deaths than the top ones because they would not have the available treatment for it unlike Australia because they are not as wealthy and would be more remote

        Reply
      • Deglow says

        January 31, 2020 at 7:45 pm

        😥😥😥😥

        Reply
      • lavinia says

        April 10, 2020 at 6:41 pm

        your info is a lot more helpful than… that. thanks

        Reply
      • will says

        October 2, 2021 at 10:10 am

        australian have 734 poisonous / venemous animals.

        Reply
        • Lolzies says

          August 1, 2022 at 3:03 am

          you spelt it wrong.

          Reply
    • Nafew says

      October 18, 2020 at 8:04 pm

      Damn

      Reply
  2. Bast Fenstalker says

    May 13, 2015 at 9:10 am

    How do I avoid it?
    I was born in Australia.

    Reply
    • lavinia says

      April 10, 2020 at 6:43 pm

      lol! your so right I lived in Africa till I was 8. I understand.

      Reply
    • cool kid says

      April 6, 2022 at 8:56 pm

      leave

      Reply
  3. Inés Yuridia Guevara Medina says

    June 15, 2015 at 8:02 am

    Can’t avoid it, I was born in Mexico.

    Reply
  4. BBakeca says

    June 22, 2015 at 6:55 am

    Great maps!

    Reply
  5. splooge says

    June 26, 2015 at 6:48 am

    dam sucks to be in the tropics, but when people rip on australia, Id say yes its dangerous but africa,india,latin america and many pacific islands can match or worse due to 3rd world conditions. Its a miracle that people were able to survive on those tropical lands. Europe was lucky no wonder they were able to find time and energy to advance in science and technology and rule the world through colonialism.
    all in all would not be vactioning in most tropical lands….sticking with the carribean.

    Reply
    • Crazy Bob says

      September 17, 2018 at 7:25 am

      Use capitals.

      Reply
      • jojo says

        September 24, 2020 at 1:07 am

        Africa is not a country!!!!!!!!!!

        Reply
  6. jimbino says

    May 6, 2016 at 3:11 pm

    Dumb. Countries With The Most Venomous Animals means to say Countries With The Most Types of Venomous Animals, apparently.

    Reply
  7. RVABREAD22 says

    March 30, 2017 at 4:01 pm

    Virginia has a lot more than just 5-10%. I would say Virginia should be in deeper red and not pink . We have black widows, recluse spiders, scorpions, cottonmouths, copperheads, and more. Also the areas closer to the NC border have a lot more stuff as well.

    Reply
    • Ronald Cameron says

      July 20, 2018 at 1:34 pm

      virginia also borders on Washington d c nothing but poison there

      Reply
    • Dave says

      February 12, 2019 at 3:29 pm

      yikes!

      Reply
  8. Pluwinsky says

    July 18, 2018 at 1:44 pm

    In Mexico, is it really animals you are talking about or the government?

    Reply
    • amanda says

      September 9, 2018 at 5:32 am

      hahahah. I loved your comment.

      Reply
    • Someone says

      January 27, 2020 at 5:32 pm

      😂😂😂

      Reply
      • lavinia says

        April 10, 2020 at 6:45 pm

        same! I live in mex!

        Reply
  9. Suzanne says

    October 24, 2018 at 10:16 am

    I was born in New Zealand we have few is no poison related animals. Can’t imagine live with those type of animals.

    Reply
    • Heather says

      January 13, 2019 at 10:16 pm

      We have the native Katipo spider. We have also recently gained a couple of unwelcome migrants from Australia. (p_q*)

      Reply
  10. Puppylover says

    April 29, 2019 at 7:24 pm

    Australia has the most deadilist or venomous animals there and why I know is because of experiense(p-p).

    Reply
  11. Julia says

    April 15, 2020 at 2:02 pm

    Totally wrong… Brazil has 60 species of venomous snakes only. Without counting the other animals.

    Reply
    • Eduardo says

      June 29, 2021 at 8:53 pm

      Jair Bolsonaro, for example.

      Reply
  12. long slong says

    September 1, 2020 at 3:37 pm

    i not like te spider. scary!

    Reply
  13. Oomp says

    March 6, 2021 at 9:34 am

    In Western Washington, I’m glad to say we have zero venomous snakes.
    I still jump when I see a gardener snake but don’t know why.
    I have teeth and it doesn’t, yet I runs one way and it the other.

    Reply
  14. Sahrawi says

    May 1, 2021 at 8:13 pm

    There is no country called Western Sahara. It is part of Morocco since the 7th century.

    Reply
  15. Luis S. Guerra, PhD. Research Scientist, biology, botany says

    September 2, 2021 at 5:17 pm

    I know there are some poisonous animals in Mexico, I have seen a few, black widows, scorpions, house recluse spider, etc, etc, coral snakes, rattlers, and what about poisonous plants, but to be number 1, well, I have traveled throughout Mexico, and most people will tell you what is poisonous and what is not, but most of these tales are just plain Mexican folklore. I was born in Tampico, lived and worked in Monterrey, Torreón, Sonora, Texas, Utah, and New Mexico. Never had an encounters with really poisonous animals I could not handle.

    Reply
    • Akko says

      November 16, 2022 at 7:16 am

      If they happen to be in sonora will they aponea?

      Reply
  16. João H Larizzatti says

    January 30, 2022 at 10:06 pm

    I am geologist and worked in the Amazon regions for years. We have some dangerous snakes (surucucu is the most dangerous), spiders and lacraia. Heading South, we can find rattlesnakes in dry areas. But they are part of nature and if you don’t bother them, there is no danger. Nice job! Congrats!

    Reply

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