Are drownings more common in certain U.S. communities?

Historic inequities in access to public swimming pools and swim instruction have led to racial disparities in drowning statistics. 64% of Black children cannot swim, compared to 40% of White children and 45% of Hispanic children, according to a USA Swimming Foundation study. The risk of drowning is disproportionately high for Black children, who are four times as likely to drown than their white counterparts in the U.S., while Hispanic/Latinx children are three times more likely to drown than white children.

The ZAC Foundation is committed to addressing and eliminating these inequities in swimming by providing water safety programming to more than 20,000 children and their families in at-risk communities across the U.S.