British Behaviour Abroad Report 2013

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has released the annual British Behaviour Abroad Report for 2013.

The report lists the top 20 countries where British nationals required the most Consular assistance from 1 April 2012 - 31 March 2013.

Key findings:

• Hospitalisations - Spain continues to be the country with the highest number of Britons hospitalised (899 cases). The number of hospitalisations are lower than last year as is the case for a number of other popular holiday hotspots on the Mediterranean.
• The number of hospitalisation cases handled in Thailand has increased by around a third (31%) to 285 cases. Many of these are linked to the ageing British population in the country and road traffic accidents.
• Rape and sexual assault - Overall there was a 20% increase in reported rape cases from 2010-11 and a 9% increase on cases reported last year
• The highest number of reported sexual assaults occurred in Spain (39), 42% of which were reported to have occurred in the Balearic Islands
• Deaths abroad - 1492 British nationals died in Spain, followed by France (820) and Germany (516).
• Arrests -  Drug arrests involving Brits abroad have dropped to their lowest (653) since the report first launched in 2009 with a decrease of 34% compared to the number of cases in 2009/10, when figures were at their highest.

The British Behaviour Abroad figures have been released as part of the Know Before You Go (KBYG) campaign which encourages British nationals to prepare for their foreign travel so they can avoid preventable problems.

Before a trip travellers can visit https://www.gov.uk/knowbeforeyougo to get the latest travel advice about their destination, and take note of the number of the nearest British Embassy or Consulate to where they are staying, so they can access assistance if needed.