Road fatalities across Europe and how we compare
Every year thousands of people lose their lives or are seriously injured in accidents on EU roads. There were around 19,940 deaths on the roads in 2024, a decrease of two per cent on the previous year. Over the last 10 years there has been a gradual decline in deaths from a high of 24,358 in 2015. Two of the star performers in Europe – Norway and the UK are not included in the EU statistics but in Europe-wide stats they record the best and fourth-best road death statistics respectively.
In 2020, the number of fatalities dropped sharply to 18,830 fatalities, which was attributed to Covid-19 mobility restrictions affecting passenger transport. Although fatalities increased in 2021 and 2022, they did not return to pre-pandemic levels.
The European Commission has released preliminary figures on road fatalities for 2025, reporting around 19,400 deaths. This represents a three per cent decrease from 2024, meaning that 580 fewer people died on European roads. Given the increase in vehicles on EU roads and kilometres driven, this is a significant achievement. However, the preliminary data also highlights the need for sustained efforts at all levels as most member states are not yet on track to meet the EU’s goal of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030.
Road death figures by European countries
Roads are the safest in Norway (20 deaths per one million inhabitants), Sweden (20/million), Denmark (23/million), with the UK doing very well too with 23 deaths per million population.
Meanwhile Serbia (74/million), Bulgaria (71/million), Romania (68/million) and Croatia (71/Million), reported the highest fatality.
Road safety progress varies widely by country. Between 2024 and 2025, there were big decreases in Estonia (-38 per cent) and Greece (-22 per cent). Based on this preliminary and sometimes partial data, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Poland and Romania are currently on track to meet the 50 per cent reduction target in road deaths by 2030.
Road deaths in Ireland still increasing
Ireland’s road deaths statistics have worsened from an average number of 32 road deaths/million of in 2024 to 34 in 2025. A total of 126 people have died on Irish roads so far this year (as of midnight last Friday, 28th August), 16 more than at the same time last year, which ranked as the worst for road deaths in over a decade.
Road deaths on British roads decreasing
Meanwhile our nearest neighbour Great Britain remains one of the safest countries in the world for road safety, with one of the lowest fatality rates per head of population internationally (ranking 4th lowest among countries with data for 2025). Road deaths have decreased by 4.6 per cent since 2024, but total serious injuries have increased by 4.3 per cent since 2024. 1,594 people were killed in the UK, with 56 fatalities in Northern Ireland (NI). 28,380 were seriously injured in the UK, with 1,066 in NI.
Driving Safely
Driving safety varies dramatically around the world, influenced by road quality, enforcement, driver behaviour, and infrastructure. Recent coverage by Euro News below is very helpful for highlighting many of the deadliest countries for driving on our continent.
It notes that Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania are Europe’s deadliest countries for driving, according to a study by Vignette Switzerland, an online sales company for the Swiss e-vignette, a digital road toll pass.
Serbia registered 74 road deaths per million people, putting the country 72 per cent above the EU average. It’s the second consecutive year the country topped the list. However, its latest road fatality figures are slightly down from last year’s.
Bulgaria followed next in second place with 71 road deaths per million people, and Romania ranked third with 68 road deaths per million people.
In addition, popular tourism hubs, including Portugal, Greece, Italy and France, came in among the top 10 deadliest European countries for driving, according to the study.
On the other hand, Nordic countries still dominate the safety rankings, with Norway now tied with Sweden, recording just 19 deaths per million inhabitants, making them nearly four times safer than Serbia.
Factors that affect driving safety
Road infrastructure: Quality of asphalt, lane markings, lighting, and barriers;
Driver behaviour: Respect for rules, speed compliance, lane discipline;
Enforcement: Camera density, police presence, fine collection effectiveness;
Signage: Clarity, multilingual support, advance warning;
Weather: Frequency of adverse conditions (ice, fog, monsoons);
Traffic density: Congestion levels, mix of vehicle types (trucks, mopeds, pedestrians);
Wildlife: Risk of animal crossings (deer, kangaroos, camels etc. depending on location).
Finally, it is estimated that compulsory safety technologies could help save more than 25,000 lives and avoid at least 140,000 serious injuries by 2038, given that human error is involved in about 95 per cent of all road traffic accidents.