List of animals deadliest to humans

"Most dangerous animals" redirects here. For the notion of humans as the most dangerous animal, see The Most Dangerous Animal in the World. For the short story about the concept, see The Most Dangerous Game.

This is a list of the deadliest animals to humans worldwide, measured by the number of humans killed per year. Different lists have varying criteria and definitions, so lists from different sources disagree and can be contentious. This article contains a compilation of lists from several reliable sources.

Deadliest animals as of 2016^[1]

Humans killed per year, according to different sources

Animal	Source
	CNET[2]	Business Insider[3]	BBC News[4]	Discover Wildlife[5]
Mosquitoes[a]	1,000,000	750,000	725,000	725,000–1,000,000
Humans (homicide)	475,000	437,000		431,000
Snakes	50,000	100,000	50,000	138,000
Dogs[b]	25,000	35,000	25,000
Freshwater snails[c]	10,000	20,000+		200,000
Assassin bugs[d]	10,000	12,000		10,000
Tsetse flies[e]	10,000	10,000	10,000
Scorpions	3,250			2,600
Ascaris roundworms	2,500	4,500		2,500
Tapeworms	2,000	700
Crocodiles	1,000	1,000	1,000	1,000
Elephants	500	500		500
Hippopotamuses	500	500	500	500
Lion	250	22+
Deer	130

See also

• List of large carnivores known to prey on humans

Notes

1. Mosquitoes do not kill humans directly. Rather, they are a vector that transmits mosquito-borne diseases.
2. Dogs seldom kill humans directly. Rather, they are primarily a vector that transmits rabies.
3. Freshwater snails do not kill humans directly. Rather, they are a vector that transmits a variety of tropical diseases.
4. Assassin bugs do not kill humans directly. Rather, they are a vector that transmits Chagas disease.
5. Tsetse flies do not kill humans directly. Rather, they are a vector that transmits sleeping sickness.