Year after year, it is mainly men who drown in Sweden. Presumably, it is due to an overestimation of one's own abilities, according to the Swedish Life Saving Society.
Their advice: Test your swimming ability – every year.
Last weekend, three men – one man in his 55th year in Växjö and two men in their 40th year in Nacka outside Stockholm – drowned. According to the drowning statistics compiled by the Swedish Life Saving Society (SLS) every year, the majority of those who drown are men. Last year, 73 people drowned in Sweden, of whom 56 were men.
Since the SLS was founded in 1898, the trend has remained the same – approximately 80% of those who drown are men, while 20% are women. Despite this, the number of drowning accidents has steadily decreased.
According to Mikael Olausson, men overestimate their abilities more than women. Men over 60 are particularly overrepresented in the statistics, which may be due to the assumption that one can act as one did earlier.
What lies behind men's overestimation is difficult to pinpoint, but Mikael Olausson believes that more studies on behavior and attitude are needed.
Right now, SLS is working on compiling examples of people who have survived drowning accidents, in order to highlight what made them survive.
Swimming ability is a perishable skill and should be tested at least once a year. This is also something that relatives can encourage, says Mikael Olausson. For example, by swimming 200 meters in an indoor pool and then doing it outdoors where you can touch the bottom – to compare how well you did it.
A survey by SLS from 2019 shows that 64% of people were comfortable swimming alone in lakes and seas. This mainly applied to men, as well as people between 18 and 29 years old and between 50 and 64 years old.
In the past, SLS has tried to reach the target group – but they have been difficult to reach since they do not identify with the issue. Something that should also be studied, according to Mikael Olausson.
2019: 49 men, 6 boys, 9 women, 1 girl, 3 unknown
2020: 59 men, 5 boys, 12 women, 1 girl
2021: 75 men, 3 boys, 11 women, 2 girls, 6 unknown
2022: 55 men, 5 boys, 7 women, 3 unknown
2023: 56 men, 2 boys, 11 women, 1 girl, 3 unknown
Source: Swedish Life Saving Society
• Test your swimming ability.
• Swim and swim always with other adult swimmers.
• Always swim near shore or piers.
• Keep in mind that the water is cold at the beginning of the season.
• Cold and rough water takes more energy than you think.
Source: Swedish Life Saving Society
