Is Scuba Diving Safe? A Diver’s Perspective

I meet a lot of people through my work, and when casual conversations turn to hobbies, I of course tell them I am a diver. I can see the look on some people's faces; they almost shiver with fear—fear of something they have never tried or likely never will. To anyone who has never strapped on a tank and stepped off the back of a boat, scuba diving can look like a hazardous gamble.

Non-divers always ask me the same two things: “What about sharks?” and “What’s the worst thing you have ever seen?” People often fear what they don't know, and diving is certainly perceived by non-divers as a dangerous sport, but is that true?

These perceptions are understandable. Breathing underwater defies everyday experience, and most people know little about the training and preparation that keep divers safe. Media reports naturally highlight the rare tragedies rather than the thousands of ordinary dives that finish with nothing more exciting than a warm shower and a logbook entry. As a result, many people who have never donned a mask think diving is far more dangerous than it really is.

The Reality Revealed by Data

When you look at the facts, a very different picture emerges. Decades of research and careful record keeping show that recreational scuba diving, when done within the limits of proper training and equipment, is a low-risk activity. In the United States and Canada, for example, researchers examined a ten-year period between 2006 and 2015 and found roughly 306 million recreational dives but only 563 deaths. That works out to about 0.18 fatalities per 100,000 dives. Measured a different way, the rate is about 1.8 deaths per 100,000 active divers per year.

Other studies and insurance data sets from organizations such as the Divers Alert Network (DAN) arrive at similar numbers. Injuries that require emergency treatment occur more often—about fourteen thousand a year in the U.S.—but the majority are minor ear problems, mild barotrauma, or simple cuts and scrapes rather than life-threatening incidents.

Understanding the Main Risk Factors

I have been unfortunate enough to be around several instances of death. After reflection on all those incidents I have seen, all can be put down to one of two factors: diving outside of your training and experience, or diving with pre-existing medical conditions.

Understanding how accidents happen helps explain why the overall risk is low for divers who stay within their limits. The most common serious problems involve running out of breathing gas, poor buoyancy control leading to rapid ascents, or a combination of challenging environmental conditions such as strong currents and cold water. Almost all of these issues can be put down to diving outside of your training and experience level. The road to becoming a diving expert should not be a race, and each new style of diving requires training and knowledge build-up prior to being thrown into the deep end.

Experience matters. Divers in their first year after certification and those who dive infrequently show a higher accident rate than those who practice regularly and keep their skills fresh.

A North American/Caribbean review of 122 fatalities found that 45% involved a clear violation of safe-diving practice, and when the cause wasn’t medical, 75% showed at least one major breach. Experience matters: DAN data show roughly half of all deaths happen to divers with fewer than 20 lifetime dives, most of them after certification rather than during class. Historical reviews of surface-supplied diving accidents echo this, with inadequate training flagged in about 16% of cases.

Pre-existing health issues, particularly cardiac disease, play a significant role in many fatalities. DAN’s global review of more than 1,100 scuba deaths (2012–2019) found that about one in five were directly caused by cardiovascular disease and another one in four involved a heart problem that triggered an accident. Hypertension showed up in about 40% of these cases, obesity in 30%, diabetes in 14%, and atrial fibrillation in around 6%. Divers over 50 face many times the cardiac-related risk of younger divers. An Australian study of 126 deaths (2001–2013) reported similar numbers: 37% of divers had a significant medical condition and about 25% died after a disabling heart event.

To summarize, around a third of all scuba deaths involve serious medical issues, often heart-related, and a similar share involve divers pushing past their training or recent experience. Regular health checks, realistic self-assessment, and staying within your comfort zone remain the strongest safeguards against becoming a statistic.

What About the Sharks?

Despite the dramatic image of sharks, documented incidents involving scuba divers are extremely rare. According to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF), the global average of unprovoked shark attacks on all ocean users—including swimmers, surfers, snorkelers, and divers—is typically around 70 to 80 incidents per year, with fatalities averaging about five to six worldwide.

Scuba divers represent only a small fraction of those cases. ISAF data show that divers and snorkelers together account for roughly 4 percent of unprovoked attacks, and when incidents are separated by activity, scuba divers alone make up about 1 percent or less. Most encounters involve curious but non-aggressive species, and many recorded "attacks" result in no injury beyond a minor bite. In fact, for a certified scuba diver, the odds of a serious shark-related injury are estimated to be less than one in several million dives, far lower than the risks from medical issues, equipment misuse, or diving beyond training limits. These numbers highlight that shark diving, when conducted with reputable operators and sensible precautions, is statistically one of the safest wildlife experiences in the ocean.

How Diving Compares to Other Activities

Numbers alone don't mean much until we compare them to the risks people accept in daily life or in other sports. Recreational scuba’s fatality rate of roughly two deaths per 100,000 participants each year is lower than many common activities. Running and jogging, for instance, produce a higher annual death rate when measured across large populations. Driving a car, something most of us do without a second thought, carries a far greater risk, with traffic accidents killing more than ten people per 100,000 population annually in many countries. Even horseback riding has been estimated to have a fatality rate more than fifty times higher than diving. Skydiving, mountain climbing, and motor sports are all dramatically more dangerous on a per-event basis than a well-planned scuba dive.

When you combine the risks being so low compared to many other things we do either daily or for fitness reasons with the fact that two-thirds of diving deaths are caused by the same two factors that are easily mitigated, it all adds up to scuba diving being a very safe sport.

Why Scuba Diving Stays So Safe

The relative safety of diving is no accident. From the first open-circuit scuba pioneers to today’s training agencies, the culture of diving has evolved around risk management. Modern training programs emphasize emergency procedures, buddy systems, equipment checks, and conservative dive planning. Equipment itself has become remarkably reliable. Regulators are designed with redundant valves, tanks are rigorously inspected, and computers continuously calculate no-decompression limits and ascent rates. A diver who follows these procedures and dives within their certification limits enjoys multiple layers of protection.

Factors That Increase Personal Risk

That is not to say divers can be complacent. Certain factors unquestionably increase the likelihood of an incident. Age is one. Studies show the median age of diving fatalities has been climbing for decades, largely because more divers are active well into their fifties and sixties. With age come cardiovascular concerns that may have nothing to do with scuba itself. Long gaps between dives also raise risk, as skills and comfort fade. Environmental extremes such as strong currents, poor visibility, cold water, or overhead environments such as caves or wrecks require training and preparation beyond the basic open-water course. Overconfidence or the temptation to exceed one’s training limits is perhaps the single most dangerous mindset a diver can have.

Steps Every Diver Can Control

The good news is that divers control most of these variables. Regular practice keeps buoyancy and emergency skills sharp. Honest medical assessments and maintaining general fitness reduce the chances of cardiac issues. Careful equipment maintenance and pre-dive checks prevent the majority of mechanical problems. Planning the dive and diving the plan, watching gas consumption, ascending slowly with a safety stop, and never separating from a buddy are all simple habits that make serious accidents extraordinarily unlikely. The safety margin increases even more when divers stay conservative with depth and bottom time rather than pushing computer limits.

Putting the Risk Into Perspective

Seen in this context, scuba diving sits comfortably in the middle of the risk spectrum for outdoor recreation. It is certainly more demanding than a game of chess, but far safer than mountaineering, base jumping, or even everyday commuting by car. The underwater world demands respect and preparation, but it rewards that respect with unforgettable experiences and a lifetime of adventure. Most importantly, the diver holds the keys to safety. Training, judgment, and discipline are what make a dive safe; it is not down to luck.

Conclusion: A Reasoned Yes

So, is scuba diving safe? The honest answer is that it carries real risk, just as any sport does, but for a trained and careful diver who takes care of their health, the risk is small and manageable. Millions of dives are completed each year without serious incident. When compared with activities that society accepts as ordinary, from driving to running to riding horses, the statistics show that scuba diving is far safer than the public imagines. Non-divers may picture mysterious dangers in the deep, but those of us who dive know the truth: with the right preparation, the ocean is a remarkably welcoming place.