Nature

Discover the most lethal snake on every continent

Snakes are found on every continent in the world except Antarctica, and some of them are highly venomous able to kill over 100 people with a single bite.

Greg Heilman

Update: Jul 19th, 2025 18:33 EDT

Snakes have inhabited Earth for around 167 million years, existing alongside the dinosaurs. There are currently over 3,000 species of these cold-blooded, legless reptiles, inhabiting every continent except Antarctica where conditions are too cold for them to survive.

These slithering creatures play a vital role in world’s ecosystems helping to control the populations of the animals that are their prey. There are two general types of snakes, the nonvenomous ones that use constriction to kill their victims and those the paralyze quarry with venom before swallowing them whole.

The most lethal snakes on every continent

There are roughly 600 venomous snakes, some so much so that they can kill an elephant or a hundred humans with a single bite. Here’s a look at the deadliest ones that exist on each continent.

Africa

The Black Mamba is considered the deadliest snake in Africa with its bite resulting in 100% fatality rate if left untreated. However, the snake that causes more fatalities than any other on the continent is the Puff Adder. Without treatment over 50% of its victims die from its strong cocktail of cytotoxins.

Asia

The Saw-Scaled Viper might be small in size, with adults measuring between one and three feet in length, but their bite packs a powerful punch. This snake is irritable and strikes without much provocation, and is responsible for the most deaths in Asia, actually even the entire world.

Australia

The most venomous snake in the world lives in Australia and parts of Papua New Guinea. The Inland Taipan’s venom is so strong that a single bite could kill 100 humans. However, the highly toxic venom of the Eastern Brown Snake causes the most deaths from snake bites in Australia.

Europe

The most dangerous snake in Europe is the Nose-Horned Viper, its name derived from the ‘horn’ that features prominently on its snout. Fortunately, its bites are rarely fatal if victims are treated swiftly.

North America

The Mojave Rattlesnake and Coral Snake have stronger toxic venom but the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake is the deadliest snake in North America and the largest. These snakes inhabit the southeast of the United States and have a mortality rate of between 10% and 30% if a person who gets bitten does not get treatment.

South America

The Fer-De-Lance is an aggressive pit viper that lives in Central and South America with a powerful hemotoxic venom. A single bite from one of these snakes can kill multiple humans and is responsible for the most deaths of any snake in the Americas.