"There are three kinds of lies: Lies, damn lies and statistics." Mark Twain (American Humorist, 1835- 1910)

1. With a fraction (less than a fifth - 17.5%) of the guns per capita of the United States, Thailand ranked on par with the United States in intentional homicides per 100,000 people.

"The Globalization of Crime." 2010. Retrieved from http://www.unodc.org

2. Thailand has the highest rate of motorcycle deaths in the world per 100,000 citizens, six times the world rate for motorcycle fatalities.

Retrieved from: The twenty countries with the greatest rate of motorcycle deaths per 100,000 population

Note: To say that Thailand is dangerous for motorcycle drivers is a gross understatement - on the level of American astronaut Jim Lovell's famous, "Houston, we've had a problem."

3. Road accidents in Thailand caused 44 deaths per 100,000 people, making it the second most deadly country in the world for road accidents. Namibia (Africa) topped the list with 45 deaths per 100,000 population. The worldwide average number of car-related deaths per 100,000 people per year is 18.

And as an aside, In April 2012, Phuket authorities stopped publishing monthly lists of tourist and expat deaths ( by unnatural cause). I wonder why??