The EU’s roads are among the safest in the world and have generally become safer over time. That said, road safety remains a major societal issue: in 2018, there were 23 418 road fatalities in the EU and 1.23 million road injuries.
Source datasets: tran_r_acci, tran_sf_roadse and demo_pjan
In 2018, there were, on average, 52 road fatalities per million inhabitants across the EU. At a regional level, the highest incidence rates were recorded in Notio Aigaio in Greece (161 road fatalities per million inhabitants), Alentejo in Portugal (142), Mazowiecki regionalny in Poland (127) and Prov. Luxembourg in Belgium (123).
Between 2008 and 2018, the incidence rate for road fatalities fell in over 90% of the regions for which data are available. The most rapid declines were recorded in Thessalia in Greece (-74%), Auvergne in France (-68%) and La Rioja in Spain (-66%).
In contrast, there were 12 EU regions where road fatalities rate rose between 2008 and 2018. The increase was particularly strong in regions at either end of Italy: Liguria in the north (+45%) and Basilicata in the south (+32%).
This news is published on the occasion of World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (15 November).
Would you like to know more about transport statistics at regional level?
You can find more information in the dedicated chapter of the new digital publication Regions in Europe, in the dedicated chapter of the Eurostat regional yearbook 2020 as well as in the corresponding maps in Statistical Atlas.
Note: The European Union (EU) includes 27 EU Member States. The United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January 2020. Further information is published here.
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