Revealed: The holiday destination where most Aussies are killed or injured

Australians may want to reconsider their next holiday destination after a worrying statistic was revealed about one of the most popular countries for holidaymakers.

With more than 1,600 Australian travellers dying overseas and 1,701 ending up in hospital last year, there is cause for concern for travellers heading abroad.

According to finder.com.au, that means an Australian either died or was receiving hospital treatment every two-and-a-half hours.

Worryingly, 33 per cent of those deaths occurred in just four southeast Asian countries – Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Those 523 deaths alarmingly equates to a death every 17 hours.

Thailand ranked as the biggest threat to Australians with the highest rate of deaths and hospitalisations despite only ranking fifth in the most popular destinations.

“An Australian dies or is hospitalised in Thailand every day, making it one of the most problematic destinations for Australian travellers,” finder.com.au travel insurance expert Bessie Hassan told News Corp.

Last year, there were 38 deaths per 100,000 travellers from Australia – a worrying statistic with half a million holidaymakers heading to Thailand from these shores.

Ms Hassan said that illness, natural causes and accident were the three main causes of death for Australians in the Asian country.

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And disturbingly there is nearly one Australian murdered a week, with 49 occurring in 2017.

Ms Hassan urged Australians to tread with caution and check travel warnings for each destination.

She also insisted travel insurance was a must when heading overseas.

The statistics come after 36-year-old Perth man Ben French died this week who suffered a serious brain injury on March 28 in a scooter crash on Thailand's popular tourist island of Koh Samui.