More than 1,600 Australians died overseas last financial year, including 49 who were murdered.
Australians are avid travellers — nearly 9 million take overseas trips each year — but the latest figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) show an increasing number never make it home.
Consular officials managed 1,653 cases involving the deaths of Australians overseas in 2016/17, a 9 per cent increase on the previous financial year.
Illness was the leading cause of death, followed by natural causes, but according to the figures 68 Australians took their own lives overseas and a further 49 were murdered.
Some of the most high-profile cases included the deaths of 28-year-old Kirsty Boden and 21-year-old Sara Zelenak in the London Bridge terrorist attack in June.
Darwin man Matthew Bate, 31, was also killed during a fight in San Francisco.
In addition, DFAT helped find more than 1,800 Australians who were reported missing, including in Turkey, South Sudan, France and Britain.
Officials handled the cases of another 1,701 who either became ill or needed hospital treatment.
Overall, 12,454 Australians in 134 countries were provided with consular assistance in 2016/17 — a sharp decrease on the previous financial year which recorded a series of international emergencies.
