(Bloomberg Business) — Last year, 68 million Americans traveled internationally. The overwhelming majority returned safely to U.S. shores. An unlucky few didn't.

The government doesn't keep comprehensive records of civilian deaths abroad. But the State Department is required to collect and publish information on citizens' deaths from unnatural causes, recording more than 8,000 in the past 10 years. The picture that emerges from that data tells us a little bit about risks around the globe.

In much of the world, the causes of unnatural death for Americans abroad are similar to those at home—suicides and accidents, particularly car crashes. A handful of places show more unusual patterns: a high number of murders from Mexico across Central America and into Columbia, Venezuela, and Guyana; terrorist deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan; and drowning in coastal destinations, including many island nations in the Caribbean and South Pacific.