The Royal National Lifeboat Association (RNLI), the charity that saves lives at sea, today released a report by Frontier (Europe) analysing the cost of drowning.

Worldwide, 372,000 people drown each year. Drowning is among the 10 leading causes of death for children and young people in every region of the world. Frontier’s report estimates that the global cost of drowning is at least $146bn each year. This cost is estimated using the Value of Statistical Life, which is a hypothetical monetary cost to society, regularly used by policymakers to measure the benefit of safety measures such as improved roads and other transport infrastructure.

The research also found that many low-income countries could have a disproportionately high cost of drowning. The estimated cost is equivalent to over 0.8% of gross national income (GNI) for some countries, particularly in Africa.

Further details are also available in the technical statement which accompanies the report.

Frontier (Europe) regularly advises public and third sector clients on issues relating to public policy.

For more information, please contact Goran Serdarevic on g.serdarevic@frontier-economics.com, or call +44 (0)20 7031 7000.