Data extracted in November 2024.
Planned update: November 2025.
Highlights
In 2022, the highest incidence of non-fatal accidents at work in the EU was observed in construction, with 2 961 such accidents per 100 000 employed people.
In 2022, the highest incidence of fatal accidents at work in the EU was observed in mining and quarrying, with 10.2 such accidents per 100 000 employed people.
Incidence rate of non-fatal accidents at work, EU, 2012–22
This article presents a set of main statistical findings in relation to indicators concerning non-fatal and fatal accidents at work in the European Union (EU). The statistics presented have been collected as part of the European statistics on accidents at work (ESAW) administrative data collection exercise. This article analyses these statistics according to the type of economic activity in which accidents occur, focusing on selected activities: agriculture, forestry and fishing (NACE Section A); mining and quarrying (NACE Section B); manufacturing (NACE Section C); construction (NACE Section F); distributive trades (comprising wholesale, retail and motor trades, NACE Section G); transport and storage (NACE Section H); accommodation and food service activities (NACE Section I); administrative and support service activities (NACE Section N); public administration and defence (NACE Section O); and human health and social work activities (NACE Section Q).
Developments over time
Non-fatal accidents
In 2022, there were 2.97 million non-fatal accidents that resulted in at least 4 calendar days of absence from work in the EU (see Table 1). The total number of non-fatal accidents at work in the EU rose between 2012 and 2019, up some 203 000 (equivalent to an overall increase of 6.9%). To some extent, this increase may reflect methodological changes in data collection/compilation in some EU countries. For more information, please refer to the data sources section of the main article on accidents at work statistics. In 2020, this upward trend was interrupted, as the number of non-fatal accidents fell by 405 000, down 12.9%. This change reflects, at least in part, the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on EU labour markets and working conditions. There was a partial rebound in the number of non-fatal accidents, up 151 000 (equivalent to an increase of 5.5%) in 2021 and around 87 000 (3.0%) in 2022.
In absolute terms, non-fatal accidents in 2022, in the EU were most common in
- manufacturing – around 535 000 (18.0% of the total)
- human health and social work activities – around 470 000 (15.8%)
- construction – around 364 000 (12.2%)
- distributive trades – around 347 000 (11.7%).
Given that the workforces of these activities vary greatly in size, the incidence rate (the number of non-fatal accidents at work for every 100 000 employed people) gives a clearer impression of where workers were more likely to encounter non-fatal accidents.
In 2022, the highest incidence of non-fatal accidents at work in the EU was observed in construction, with 2 961 such accidents per 100 000 employed people. Transport and storage (2 447 per 100 000), administrative and support service activities (2 143 per 100 000) and human health hand social work activities (2 133 per 100 000) were the only other NACE sections with incidence rates above 2 000 per 100 000 employed people. The lowest incidence rate among the selected activities was for public administration and defence (1 126 per 100 000 employed people), as shown in Table 1.
There was an overall decrease in the EU's incidence rate of non-fatal accidents between 2012 and 2019 (down 4.2%), reflecting faster growth in the number of employed people than in the number of non-fatal accidents. Among the selected activities, incidence rates for non-fatal accidents at work were generally lower in 2019 than in 2012. This situation was observed for 8 out of the 10 NACE sections for which data are shown. Between 2012 and 2019 there were considerable increases in incidence rates for non-fatal accidents for public administration and defence (up 32.7%) and human health and social work activities (up 12.3%). Note that the changes observed for the EU in some activities may be linked to changes in the coverage of specific activities for some EU countries, for example because of the end of derogations or voluntary data collection.
Focusing just on the latest annual change, the incidence rate of non-fatal accidents fell 0.7% between 2021 and 2022. An increase in 2022 was observed for 3 out of the 10 NACE sections for which information is presented. The increases were recorded for human health and social work activities (up 20.6%), accommodation and food service activities (up 6.7%) and mining and quarrying (up 6.1%). The largest decrease in the incidence rate of non-fatal accidents in 2022 was recorded for administrative and support service activities (down 9.9%).
Fatal accidents
In 2022, there were 3 286 fatal accidents at work in the EU (see Table 2), resulting in a ratio of 905 non-fatal accidents for every fatal accident. There was a decrease in the total number of fatal accidents at work in the EU between 2012 and 2019, some 349 fewer (equivalent to an overall decrease of 9.3%). This decrease continued in the next 3 years: there were 50 fewer deaths in 2020 (note that there is a break in series), 11 fewer in 2021 and 61 fewer in 2022, down 1.5%, 0.3% and 1.8%, respectively.
In absolute terms, fatal accidents in the EU were most common in 2022 in
- construction, 754 (22.9% of the total)
- transport and storage, 514 (15.6%)
- manufacturing, 500 (15.2%)
- agriculture, forestry and fishing, 389 (11.8%)
- distributive trades, 272 (8.3%)
- administrative and support service activities, 215 (6.5%).
In 2022, the highest incidence rate of fatal accidents at work (the number of fatal accidents at work for every 100 000 employed people) in the EU was observed in mining and quarrying with 10.2 fatal accidents per 100 000 employed people. Construction (6.1 per 100 000 employed people), agriculture forestry and fishing (5.5 per 100 000) and transport and storage (4.8 per 100 000) were the only other NACE sections with incidence rates above 1.8 per 100 000 employed people. Among the economic activities shown in Table 2, the lowest incidence rate was for human health and social work activities (0.4 per 100 000).
Across the EU, the decrease in the incidence rate of fatal accidents at work between 2012 and 2019 (down by 18.7%) was approximately half the decrease in the number of fatal accidents, reflecting growth in the number of employed people. During the period 2012–19, there was a larger reduction in the incidence of fatal accidents at work than for non-fatal accidents. While incidence rates for fatal accidents at work – as for non-fatal accidents – were generally lower in 2019 than in 2012 for most activities, a large increase was observed in the incidence rate of fatal accidents for accommodation and food service activities (up 60.8%).
Focusing on the latest annual change, the incidence rate of fatal accidents in the EU fell 5.7% between 2021 and 2022. The decrease in the incidence rate was larger than the decrease in the number of such accidents, as the number of employed people increased in 2022. In each year, there was a fairly even distribution across the NACE sections for which data are shown in Table 1 between those recording decreases or stability and those recording increases. In 2022, relatively large decreases in the incidence rate were observed for human health and social work activities (down 25.0%), public administration and defence (down 18.4%), distributive trades (down 16.9%), transport and storage (down 11.4%) and administrative and support service activities (down 11.2%); a smaller decrease was observed for construction (down 2.8%). There were increases for the 4 other economic activities shown. The largest increase, by far, was observed for mining and quarrying (up 40.7%).
Analysis of non-fatal accidents by sex and age
Men are generally more likely than women to be involved in an accident at work. In 2022, 2 out of every 3 (66.2%) non-fatal accidents at work in the EU involved men (excluding cases where the sex of the victim experiencing the accident wasn't reported). To some extent, this reflects the fact that more men than women work and this difference is particularly strong in several activities with particularly high incidence rates. Another factor that influences gender differences is the different types of work that men and women carry out, even within a particular activity.
The difference in incidence rates for men and women in construction was particularly large, with the rate for non-fatal accidents at work 7.3 times as high for men as for women in 2022. Similarly, the incidence rate for men was 6.2 times as high as for women in mining and quarrying. The only activity with a higher incidence rate for women than for men was human health and social work activities.
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_01)
Focusing on the 10 activities presented in Table 3, the 4 highest incidence rates for non-fatal accidents at work among women in the EU in 2022 were for human health and social work activities, transport and storage, administrative and support service activities, and accommodation and food service activities. For men, construction, administrative and support service activities, transport and storage, and manufacturing had the 4 highest rates (see Table 4).
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_01)
Figure 1 helps to identify the activities where workers of a particular age range make up a greater or lesser share of those having suffered a non-fatal accident at work. It should be kept in mind that the age profile of the workforce may vary between economic activities.
Younger workers (those aged less than 25 years) accounted for 12.2% of all non-fatal accidents at work in the EU in 2022. Higher than average (for all economic activities) shares of non-fatal accidents among young workers were recorded in the following sectors
- agriculture, forestry and fishing (12.3%)
- construction (14.4%)
- administrative and support service activities (14.4%)
- distributive trades (16.3%)
- accommodation and food service activities (24.0%).
Older workers (those aged 55 years and over) accounted for 20.0% of all non-fatal accidents at work in the EU in 2022. Higher than average shares of non-fatal accidents among older workers were recorded for
- transport and storage (20.6%)
- human health and social work activities (24.7%)
- public administration and defence (27.2%)
- agriculture, forestry and fishing (28.0%).
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(% of non-fatal accidents for each activity)
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_03)
Severity of accidents
The data presented in Figure 2 include information for non-fatal and fatal accidents. This analysis identifies the number of calendar days (grouped into several classes) during which the victim was unfit for work, excluding the day of the accident itself, or whether there was a permanent incapacity or death (within 1 year of the accident) as a result of the accident at work.
In the EU, a considerable majority (86.7%) of all accidents at work in 2022 involved the victim being unfit for work for less than 3 months, while some 10.2% were for longer periods (or resulted in permanent incapacity) and 0.1% were fatal accidents. For the remaining 3.0% of cases, the severity (in terms of duration of being unfit for work) was unknown.
Accidents at work resulting in the victim being unfit for work for less than 3 months made up a relatively large proportion of accidents at work in the EU in 2022 in manufacturing (88.7%), distributive trades (89.1%), human health and social work activities (89.5%) and accommodation and food service activities (89.6%).
By contrast, the share of workplace accidents in the EU in 2022 that were non-fatal but resulted in the victim being unfit for work for 3 months or more made up a particularly large share of all workplace accidents for mining and quarrying (16.8%).
Fatal accidents accounted for 0.1% of all workplace accidents in the EU in 2022. Among the selected activities, transport and storage (0.2%), construction (also 0.2%), agriculture, forestry and fishing (0.3%), and mining and quarrying (0.6%) had higher shares.
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(% of accidents for each activity)
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_04)
Analysis by injured body part
The description of an accident at work includes information on the injured body part. The following options are available for recording the body part injured in an accident at work
- head
- neck
- back
- torso and organs
- upper extremities
- lower extremities
- whole body and multiple sites
- other parts of body injured
- not specified.
Figures 3 and 4 present an analysis of the type of body part injured in non-fatal and fatal accidents.
Non-fatal accidents at work
For all activities combined, the most common body parts injured in non-fatal workplace accidents in the EU in 2022 were
- the upper extremities (shoulders, arms and hands), with 37.1% of the total number of non-fatal accidents at work
- the lower extremities (hips, legs and feet) with 28.6%.
The only other type of body part with a share that was more than a tenth of the EU total was the back, accounting for 10.1% of all injuries in 2022.
_to_commonly_injured_body_parts,_EU,_2022_Health2024.png)
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_06)
Looking into the injured body part for the individual economic activities analysed in this article (see Figure 3 and Table 5), in 2022 non-fatal accidents at work that resulted in injuries of the upper extremities were particularly common in the EU within manufacturing (52.1% of all accidents in manufacturing) and the accommodation and food service activities (48.2%), but were less common in transport and storage (27.2%) and human health and social work (21.9%). For injuries of the lower extremities, there was less variation by activity, with the highest shares for mining and quarrying (36.2%) and transport and storage (36.0%) and the lowest shares for manufacturing (24.9%) and human health and social work (19.4%). Back injuries were relatively common within human health and social work activities (12.5%) and public administration and defence (12.3%), while manufacturing (7.5%) and mining and quarrying (7.0%) were the activities with the lowest shares.
_Health2024.png)
(% of non-fatal accidents for each activity)
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_06)
Fatal accidents at work
Turning to fatal accidents at work, the distribution by the body part that was injured was very different. For all activities combined, 1 in 3 fatal accidents in the EU in 2022 related to injuries of the whole body or multiple sites (34.4%), while just over a fifth (21.3%) were head injuries and 12.1% were injuries to the torso and organs (see Figure 4).
The most common category of injuries in fatal accidents at work in the EU in 2022 concerned the whole body and multiple sites; this was observed for 9 of the 10 economic activities shown (when excluding the residual category of not specified); the exception was human health and social work activities, for which head injuries were more common. The highest share of fatal accidents at work concerning the whole body and multiple sites was recorded for mining and quarrying (63.6%), while the lowest – apart from human health and social work activities – was for accommodation and food service activities (25.9%).
Looking at the less common body parts injured in fatal accidents at work in the EU in 2022, activities with relatively high shares included
- public administration and defence, human health and social work activities, and administrative and support service activities for upper extremities injuries
- agriculture, forestry and fishing as well as accommodation and food service activities for neck injuries
- mining and quarrying, human health and social work activities, and administrative and support service activities for injuries of the lower extremities
- construction for back injuries.
_Health2024.png)
(% of fatal accidents for each activity)
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_06)
Analysis by type of injury
Figures 5 and 6 show (for non-fatal and fatal accidents, respectively) analyses of data according to the type of injury sustained when people were involved in accidents. Note that the selected types of injury are similar but not identical in the 2 figures.
Non-fatal accidents at work
In 2022, the most common injuries in the EU resulting from non-fatal accidents were wounds and superficial injuries (27.6% of the total), dislocations, sprains and strains (25.5%), concussion and internal injuries (18.7%), and bone fractures (10.8%). Wounds and superficial injuries had the highest share of non-fatal accidents across 7 of the 10 economic activities shown in Figure 5
- dislocations, sprains and strains accounted for a higher share for public administration and defence
- dislocations, sprains and strains as well as concussion and internal injuries accounted for higher shares for transport and storage
- poisoning and infections, dislocations, sprains and strains, and concussion and internal injuries all accounted for higher shares for human health and social work activities.
Looking at the less common types of injuries resulting from non-fatal workplace accidents in the EU in 2022, some were quite common in particular activities.
- Bone fractures were relatively common in agriculture, forestry and fishing (18.2% of all non-fatal accidents in this activity) as well as mining and quarrying (18.1%) compared with the average for all activities (10.8%).
- The loss of body parts (amputations) was also relatively common in mining and quarrying (1.4%), as well as manufacturing (0.9%) and agriculture, forestry and fishing (0.8%) compared with the overall average (0.4%).
- Burns, scalds and frostbite were 4.1 times as common in accommodation and food service activities (6.0%) as the average for all activities (1.5%).
- Poisoning and infections were particularly common in human health and social work activities (26.8%): this was the only activity among those shown in Figure 5 with a share above the average for all activities (5.4%).
_Health2024.png)
(% of non-fatal accidents for each activity)
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_07)
Fatal accidents at work
For fatal accidents at work in 2022, the most commonly observed injury types across the EU were multiple injuries (22.8% of fatal accidents) and concussion and internal injuries (20.4%), followed by bone fractures (9.9%).
- Multiple injuries were the most common type of injury in 2022 for 7 of the 10 economic activities shown in Figure 6: mining and quarrying, transport and storage, public administration and defence, administrative and support service activities, manufacturing, construction, and agriculture, forestry and fishing.
- Concussion and internal injuries were the most common type of injury for distributive trades, human health and social work activities, and accommodation and food service activities.
- Bone fractures were relatively common for agriculture, forestry and fishing (15.7%).
Less common types of injuries resulting from fatal workplace accidents in the EU in 2022 included the following
- wounds and superficial injuries – these were somewhat more common within accommodation and food service activities (7.5% of fatal accidents) and manufacturing (7.4%) than on average across all activities (5.3%)
- poisoning and infections – these were among the most common types of injuries resulting from fatal workplace accidents for human health and social work activities (7.6%) and also notably more common in accommodation and food service activities (3.8%) and mining and quarrying (2.3%) than the average for all activities (1.0%)
- accidents involving drowning and asphyxiation – these were much more common in mining and quarrying (18.2%), agriculture, forestry and fishing (11.1%), and public administration and defence (6.4%) than the overall average (3.6%)
- burns, scalds and frostbite – these were much more common in mining and quarrying (15.9%) and manufacturing (3.6%) than they were across all activities (1.6%).
_Health2024.png)
(% of fatal accidents for each activity)
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_07)
Source data for tables and graphs
Data sources
In December 2008, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation (EC) No 1338/2008 on Community statistics on public health and health and safety at work. The regulation is designed to ensure that health statistics provide adequate information for all EU countries to monitor Community actions in the field of public health and health and safety at work. In April 2011, a European Commission Regulation (EU) No 349/2011 on statistics on accidents at work was adopted specifying in detail the variables, breakdowns and metadata that EU countries are required to deliver – this legislation is being implemented in a number of phases. Note also that a Commission Decision No 2011/231/EU from April 2011 granted derogations to certain EU countries with respect to the transmission of statistics on accidents at work.
European statistics on accidents at work (ESAW) is the main data source for EU statistics relating to health and safety at work issues. ESAW includes data on occupational accidents that result in at least 4 calendar days of absence from work, including fatal accidents. The phrase 'during the course of work' means while engaged in an occupational activity or during the time spent at work. This generally includes cases of road traffic accidents in the course of work but excludes accidents during the journey between home and the workplace.
An accident at work is defined in ESAW methodology as a discrete occurrence during the course of work which leads to physical or mental harm. Fatal accidents at work are those that lead to the death of the victim within 1 year of the accident taking place. Non-fatal accidents at work are defined as those that imply at least 4 full calendar days of absence from work (they are sometimes also called 'serious accidents at work'). Non-fatal accidents at work often involve considerable harm for the workers concerned and their families and they have the potential to force people, for example, to live with a permanent disability, to leave the labour market, or to change job. Indeed, they may result in a considerable number of working days being lost within the EU's economy.
The statistics presented for accidents at work refer to declarations made to either public (social security administrations) or private insurance schemes, or to other relevant national authorities (for example, those controlling labour or workplace inspections). Indicators on accidents at work may be presented as absolute values, as percentage distributions, as incidence rates in relation to every 100 000 employed people (the denominator being provided by the authorities that are responsible for ESAW data collection in EU countries or by the EU's labour force survey (LFS)) or as standardised incidence rates.
For more information on ESAW data please refer to the main article on accidents at work statistics.
Context
A safe, healthy working environment is a crucial factor in an individual's quality of life and is also a collective interest. Governments across the EU recognise the social and economic benefits of better health and safety at work. Reliable, comparable, up-to-date statistical information is vital for setting policy objectives and adopting suitable policy measures and preventative actions.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, preventive measures were put in place with the aim of limiting the spread of the Coronavirus and to combat the pandemic. Among these, some economic activities were either completely stopped or restricted by many governments or employers. In some cases, working remotely or from home became more common. This had a direct impact on all economic sectors. For the economic sectors where the activity was stopped or reduced, the number of accidents decreased. Inactivity or reduced activity in certain sectors resulted in a lower number of workers and/or hours worked, and therefore showed an unusual decrease in reported accidents at work. By contrast, in some sectors the COVID-19 pandemic generated an increase in activity. For example, this was the case for human health activities, residential care activities or social work activities without accommodation. Therefore, the increased activity resulted in generally higher numbers of reported accidents at work, especially when the cases of COVID-19 of occupational origin were included depending on national practice and legislation.
Public services that deal with receipt of notifications, as well as the reporting, investigation and recognition of accidents at work may have functioned with limited capacities during parts of the crisis.
The combined impact of the issues described above led to a decrease in the reported number of accidents at work in the data collection for the reference year 2020 compared with the previous year for the majority of reporting countries. In 2021 and 2022, the number of non-fatal accidents in the EU partially rebounded but remained below the level of 2019; the number of fatal accidents also partially rebounded in 2021 (remaining below the level of 2019) but fell slightly in 2022.
For more information on health and safety at work policy, please refer to the main article on accidents at work statistics.
Explore further
Other articles
Database
- Health, see
- Health and safety at work (hsw)
- Accidents at work (ESAW, 2008 onwards) (hsw_acc_work)
- Details by NACE Rev. 2 activity (2008 onwards) (hsw_n2)
- Non-fatal accidents at work by NACE Rev. 2 activity and sex (hsw_n2_01)
- Fatal accidents at work by NACE Rev. 2 activity (hsw_n2_02)
- Non-fatal accidents at work by NACE Rev. 2 activity and age (hsw_n2_03)
- Accidents at work by days lost and NACE Rev. 2 activity (hsw_n2_04)
- Accidents at work by NACE Rev. 2 activity and size of enterprise (hsw_n2_05)
- Accidents at work by NACE Rev. 2 activity and part of body injured (hsw_n2_06)
- Accidents at work by NACE Rev. 2 activity and type of injury (hsw_n2_07)
- Details by NACE Rev. 2 activity (2008 onwards) (hsw_n2)
- Accidents at work (ESAW, 2008 onwards) (hsw_acc_work)
Thematic section
Methodology
ESMS metadata files
- Accidents at work (ESAW, 2008 onwards) (ESMS metadata file – hsw_acc_work_esms)
- 2020. Accidents at work and other work-related health problems (ESMS metadata file – lfso_20_esms)
Publication
External links
- European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
- European Commission – Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion – Health and safety at work, see
- European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND) – Health and well-being at work
- International Labour Organization (ILO) – Safety and health at work