Nearly 20,000 people lost their lives in road crashes across EU last year

Brussels [Belgium], October 21: Last year, 19,940 people lost their lives in road crashes across the EU, according to latest statistics released by the European Commission. This represents a 2% decrease compared to 2023 and marks continued, but slow, progress toward the EU's Vision Zero goal of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030 and getting close to eliminating them by 2050.
At 45 deaths per million population, the EU continues to have among the safest roads globally. However, behind these statistics are thousands of families and communities affected by tragic and preventable losses.
Notable improvements were recorded in several countries, with examples including Lithuania (-22%), , Latvia (-19%) and Austria (-13%), demonstrating the effectiveness of recent road safety interventions. Concerning increases were observed in a small number of Member States such as Estonia (+17%) and Cyprus (+21%). However, these percentages are based on small absolute numbers. The majority of Member States maintained stable figures or achieved modest improvements.
The overall ranking of countries' fatality rates has not changed significantly, with the safest roads in Sweden (20 deaths per million inhabitants) and Denmark (24/million), while Romania (78/million) and Bulgaria (74/million) reported the highest fatality rates in 2024. Detailed figures per country are available below.
Source: Emirates News Agency