How Many People Die From Coconuts? (The 150 Deaths Myth)

If you are unfortunate enough to be standing under a coconut tree when a coconut falls, you could be seriously injured. Surely, serious head trauma could occur. But would it kill you? According to many accounts, a falling coconut is quite deadly, and you are more likely to be killed by one than by a shark. A quite precise number on the death toll is usually given: 150 people a year. Is this true? How many people die from coconuts in reality?

First of all, you are not very likely to be killed by a shark, even if you spend a lot of time in the ocean. But, it does seem to be more likely than to happen to be standing in just the right spot when a heavy coconut falls from a tree. Sure, 150 people worldwide are very few people. But a coconut? Certainly, this is too fantastic to be true.

Indeed, it is too fantastic to be true. Sharks weren’t chosen at random for this urban legend. The original number is often attributed to an expert on sharks, George Burgess, Director of the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File (ISAF). Burgess, presumably, was trying to show just how rarely sharks kill people way back in 1984 and the statement was attributed to him in a press release by ISAF 

Falling coconuts kill 150 people worldwide each year, 15 times the number of fatalities attributable to sharks,” said George Burgess, Director of the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File and a noted shark researcher.

The reality is that, on the list of potential dangers encountered in aquatic recreation, sharks are right at the bottom of the list,” said Burgess who was one of three scientists participating Tuesday in a National Sea Grant College Program and NOAA Fisheries sponsored press briefing on sharks and the risks of shark attacks at the National Press Club.

If 150 deaths were something like 15 times the number attributable to sharks, which would mean sharks kill around ten people a year, worldwide. Since then, the number has been repeated by thousands of sources who don’t bother to do any research. A quick book search revealed dozens of books that repeat this claim without reservation.

The claim has also been taken seriously by local governments. In 2002, officials in Queensland, Australia, removed coconut trees from their beaches due to the fear of falling coconuts. And, there are signs in Honolulu, written in English and Japanese, warning of the danger with a handy graphic showing people running from their lives from rogue coconuts bent on destruction.

Death by Falling Coconut: What the Studies Actually Say

These exaggerated claims seem to have begun after a report was published out of Papua New Guinea in The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery in 1984. This report described a 4-year review of trauma admissions to the Provincial Hospital, Alotau, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. The study found that 2.5% of the admissions were due to patients being struck by coconuts. This amounted to 4 people with head injuries, two who required surgery, and two who died instantly after being struck. 

• Scope: A 4-year review of trauma admissions at Provincial Hospital, Alotau.
• The Findings: 2.5% of admissions were coconut-related (4 patients total).
• The “Deaths”: This study is the primary source for the “death” claim, noting two immediate fatalities. However, these were later revealed to be anecdotal reports, and one didn’t even occur during the actual study period.

Another similar study was published in 2001 in the ANZ Journal of Surgery. This study examined coconut-related injuries in the Solomon Islands by reviewing trauma records from the Central Referral Hospital, specifically patents referred to the Department of Surgery and Orthopaedics between January 1994 and December 1999. In this approximately six-year period, 3.4% of all injuries were related to the coconut palm.

• Scope: A 6-year review of trauma records (1994–1999) at the Central Referral Hospital.
• The Findings: 3.4% of all injuries were related to coconut palms, but the “falling nut” was the least common culprit.
• The Real Danger: 85 people were injured specifically from falling out of the trees while climbing them.
• Falling Coconuts: Those who were actually hit by a falling nut sustained skull or upper limb fractures, but no deaths were reported.
• The Victim Profile: Every single person in this study injured by a falling coconut was under ten years of age.

Why so many children? Well, children play under coconut trees, and I would guess that parents often have young children go out and gather coconut fruits from under trees while they are busy with more important matters. No deaths were reported.

A more recent study from the Solomon Islands yielded similar results. Out of 3455 admissions in a 3-year period, 49 were from coconut tree trauma. This makes coconut injuries the most common cause of hospital admission in the area (Kirkira).

• Scope: A 3-year review of 3,455 admissions in the Kirkira area.
• The Findings: 49 coconut-related traumas occurred, making it a leading cause of local hospitalization—but again, the context matters.
• The Breakdown: 35 injuries were from falls and 12 were from falling branches. Only two injuries were caused by falling coconuts.

🧐 Context Matters: Why the Statistics are Misleading

Clearly, most coconut-related injuries are caused by falling from trees. Children may climb the trees for fun, and at other times, the trees are climbed to dislodge coconuts. Interestingly, according to these studies, more people are injured by falling limbs than by falling coconuts. Note, also, that very few actual deaths were reported.

From “Local Risks” to “Tourist Scares”

You should also notice that these injuries seemed to be sustained by local peoples. This is important in teasing out the hype, as, to make the statistic seem more fantastic, the claim often mentions ‘tourists’ specifically. YOU are more likely to be killed by a falling coconut than by a shark. Not a kid in the Solomon island, but YOU during your summer vacation.

It is the original study from 1984 that seems to be the ultimate source. As you can see, only two deaths were reported during the study period.

It turns out that these death reports were anecdotal and one was not even during the study period. So, the death toll in the actual study may have been even less, as in zero. Regardless, this number was used to extrapolate death rates to the rest of the world, presuming that other parts of the world where coconut palms are common experience similar death rates.

This claim was further popularized by a press release from a British travel insurance company called Club Direct. This release, written by the managing director Brent Escott, says, “Coconuts kill 150 people worldwide each year, which makes them about ten times more dangerous than sharks.”

There were, at the time, between 70 to 100 shark attacks annually that resulted in 5 to 15 deaths. So, as mentioned above, this would make falling coconuts about 15 times more deadly than sharks. It was from this report that George Burgess derived his 150 deaths a year claim.

Incidentally, in 2020, The International Shark Attack File, which Burgess directed, reported 129 alleged shark attacks, 57 confirmed unprovoked attacks and 39 provoked bites.

According to World Animal Foundation.org there is an average of 63 unprovoked shark attacks each year. In 2023. Five to six of these attacks result in death. In 2023, there was a slight increase to 69 attacks. While this may seem significant, it still fits the average trend over the past five years.

I’d like to point out that it is often erroneously reported that Peter Barrs, the author of the original study, claimed that 150 people were killed by falling coconuts each year. Barrs did not attempt to calculate the number of deaths worldwide. While he may have helped to fuel the hype by saying that coconut can fall with a force of one metric ton and by including the two anecdotal ‘dead-on-the-scene’ incidents, he does not seem to deserve the ridicule he has received. Others have published similar papers.

Putting the Risk in Perspective

Given the very limited data we have, it seems you are extremely unlikely to have a coconut fall on your head while you’re wandering along the beach. And your chances of dying from one, even if the 150 number turns out to be true, is remote compared to your chances of being struck by lightning. Unlike falling coconuts, we do have fairly accurate statistics regarding shark attacks and lightning strikes.

On the other hand, we have no actual statistics on the number of deaths from falling coconuts. It seems fairly clear, though, that 150 people a year is a stretch. A review of the studies we have shows almost no actual deaths, though many injuries.

What if I told you that 2000 people per year were killed by lightning? A pertinent question would then be ‘how many people are injured by lightning but not killed?’ In researching this, you might find that statistics on lightning-strike injuries are unreliable and not as accurate as the data on deaths. Injuries are under-reported compared to deaths.

So, how many more people are injured than actually die? This matters as it speaks to how deadly lightning actually is. The same holds true of shark bites and falling coconuts. Asking your chances of being killed by a falling coconut is not the same as asking your chances of being injured by one. Let’s say that 150 people a year ARE killed by falling coconuts but that thousands are injured. This would make falling coconuts seem dangerous, but less deadly.

Why the “Snopes Method” Fails Here

Right now, we do not know how many people are injured or killed by falling coconuts but we do know that falling limbs are just as dangerous, if not more dangerous. And, furthermore, we know that the great majority of coconut-related injuries come from falling from a coconut palm. Snopes claims that there is no way to debunk the claim with 100% certainty.

I disagree. The claim is debunked. We do not need to prove how many deaths occur, only that the original claim is not based on actual statistical data. If accurate statistics are ever compiled (and I doubt they ever will be), I do not think the number will be anywhere near 150.

The issue here isn’t about ‘proving a negative,’ the classic logical fallacy that because we haven’t counted every death, we can’t say the number isn’t 150. Rather, it is about data integrity. When the foundational ‘study’ used to create a global statistic is revealed to be a localized anecdote that was never intended to be a worldwide extrapolation, the statistic doesn’t become ‘unproven,’ it becomes fraudulent. We don’t need to count every falling coconut on earth to debunk a number that was simply made up in a press office.

🥥 Key Takeaways: The Coconut Death Myth

• The Myth: The claim that 150 people are killed by falling coconuts annually is an unverified extrapolation from a single 1984 medical report.
• The Real Danger: Medical data from the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea shows that falling from a tree is a much greater risk than being hit by a nut.
• The Victim Profile: In clinical studies, almost all injuries from falling coconuts involved children under ten, not tourists on vacation.
• The Verdict: The “150 deaths” figure is fraudulent, it was created as a rhetorical device to make sharks look safer, not as an accurate reflection of global mortality.

📚 Further Reading: More Viral Myths Debunked

If you enjoyed the deep dive into coconut statistics, you might find these other investigative pieces interesting:

• Potemkin Numbers: Why We Believe Viral Food Myths – A look at the “hollow” statistics used to make food myths go viral.
• Is Margarine Really One Molecule Away From Plastic? – Debunking the classic chemistry myth that has been haunting refrigerators for decades.
• Did Sunny Delight Really Turn a Girl’s Skin Orange? – Separating the clinical reality of “Carotenemia” from the 1990s tabloid headlines.
• Does Imitation Vanilla Contain Petroleum or Wood Pulp? – The science behind vanillin and why “paper mill waste” isn’t as scary as it sounds.