Accidents at work statistics

Data extracted in October 2024.

Planned update: October 2025.

Highlights

There were 3 286 fatal accidents at work in the EU in 2022, a decrease of 61 deaths compared with the year before.

In 2022, close to a quarter (22.9%) of all fatal accidents at work in the EU took place in the construction sector.

In 2022, more than half (53.0%) of all accidents at work in the EU caused wounds and superficial injuries, or dislocations, sprains and strains.

Fatal accidents at work, 2022

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 were collected as part of the European statistics on accidents at work (ESAW) administrative data collection exercise.

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 cause at least 4 full calendar days of absence from work (they are sometimes also called 'serious accidents at work'). Non-fatal accidents at work may result in a considerable number of working days being lost and often involve considerable harm for the workers concerned and their families. They have the potential to force people, for example, to live with a permanent disability, to leave the labour market, or to change jobs.

Number of accidents

In 2022, there were 2.97 million non-fatal accidents that resulted in at least 4 calendar days of absence from work and 3 286 fatal accidents in the EU (see Table 1), a ratio of approximately 905 non-fatal accidents for every fatal accident.

There was an increase between 2021 and 2022 in the total number of non-fatal accidents at work in the EU, some 87 139 more (equivalent to an increase of 3.0%). This may, at least in part, be attributed to a return to the workplace as restrictions associated with the COVID-19 crisis were relaxed/removed. There were 61 fewer fatal accidents at work in the EU during 2022 when compared with the year before (equivalent to a decrease of 1.8%).

Men were considerably more likely than women to have an accident at work. In 2022, around 2 out of every 3 (66.2%) non-fatal accidents at work in the EU involved men. Factors that influence these statistics are the proportion of men and women who are in employment; the different types of work that men and women carry out; and the activities in which they work. For example, there are far more accidents in the mining, manufacturing or construction sectors, which tend to be male dominated. It is generally the case that men tend to work on a full-time basis, whereas women are more likely to work on a part-time basis; as such, women spend a shorter period of time (on average) in the workplace and this may also decrease their likelihood of having an accident. Between 2021 and 2022, the number of non-fatal accidents at work in the EU that involved men decreased (down 519), while there was a notable increase (up 87 929) in the number of non-fatal accidents that involved women.

Table 1: Number of non-fatal and fatal accidents at work, 2022
(people)
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_01) and (hsw_n2_02)

Incidence rates

An alternative way to analyse the information on accidents at work is to express the number of accidents in relation to the number of employed people; this produces a ratio referred to as the incidence rate. In Figures 1 and 2, simple incidence rates are shown relating the number of accidents to the overall number of employed people. For any given country, these statistics give an indication of the likelihood that an employed person had an accident.

Across the whole of the EU, there were 1.66 fatal accidents per 100 000 employed people in 2022. Fatal accidents at work are relatively rare events and so their number and incidence can vary greatly from year to year, particularly in smaller EU countries. In 2022, the number of fatal accidents per 100 000 employed people ranged from fewer than 1.00 in the Netherlands, Greece, Germany, Sweden and Ireland to more than 3.00 fatal accidents per 100 000 employed people in Bulgaria, France and Malta (see Figure 1). The highest incidence rate among EU countries was recorded in Malta, with 5.28 fatal accidents per 100 000 employed people.

Figure 1: Fatal accidents at work, 2022
(incidence rates per 100 000 employed people)
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_02)

Across the EU, there were 1 506 non-fatal accidents per 100 000 employed people in 2022. The range for incidence rates among EU countries was from fewer than 100 non-fatal accidents per 100 000 employed people in Romania and Bulgaria to more than 2 000 per 100 000 employed people in Spain, Portugal, France and Denmark (see Figure 2). Particularly low incidence rates for non-fatal accidents may reflect an under-reporting issue, for example, linked to poorly established reporting systems, little financial incentive for victims to report such accidents or non-binding legal obligations for employers. In the same way, well-established reporting/recognition systems may often explain the high incidence rate in some countries. While the phenomenon of low non-fatal incidence rates can in part be considered to reflect under-reporting, the situation for incidence rates of fatal accidents is different as it is much more difficult to avoid reporting a fatal accident.

Figure 2: Non-fatal accidents at work, 2022
(incidence rates per 100 000 employed people)
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_01)

Standardised incidence rates

When comparing data between countries, incidence rates can be difficult to interpret, for example, when comparing the effectiveness of measures to prevent accidents at work. This is because the likelihood of having an accident is, among other factors, related to the economic activity in which a person works; the relative importance (weight) of different activities varies between countries according to the structure of each domestic economy.

To account for this, standardised incidence rates are calculated and data for these are shown in Figures 3 and 4. Such rates assume that the relative sizes of economic activities within each national economy are the same as within the EU as a whole. As such, these standardised incidence rates give a more neutral comparison of the health and safety situation across different countries. Note that these standardised incidence rates have a slightly narrower activity coverage than the simple incidence rates, as they exclude the mining and quarrying sector as well as some service activities. Standardised incidence rates only cover NACE Rev. 2 Sections A and C to N, thus excluding Sections B and O to U.

On this basis, across the EU there was an average of 2.10 fatal accidents per 100 000 employed people in 2022 (see Figure 3), while there were 1 551 non-fatal accidents per 100 000 employed people (see Figure 4). In 2022, the highest standardised incidence of fatal accidents at work was recorded in Malta (7.63 deaths per 100 000 employed people), followed by France (4.38 deaths per 100 000 employed people), Latvia (4.37 deaths per 100 000 employed people) and Bulgaria (4.24 deaths per 100 000 employed people). At the other end of the range, the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden recorded the lowest standardised incidence rates among EU countries, with fewer than 1.00 fatal accidents per 100 000 employed people in 2022.

Figure 3: Fatal accidents at work, 2022
(standardised incidence rates per 100 000 employed people)
Source: Eurostat (hsw_mi01)

Figure 4 shows that the standardised incidence rate of non-fatal accidents at work in 2022 was generally higher in some of the EU countries with insurance-based accident reporting systems: Portugal reported 3 160 non-fatal accidents per 100 000 employed people, followed by France and Spain with rates of 2 733 and 2 706 per 100 000 employed people, respectively. Insurance-based accident reporting systems offer a significant financial compensation for the victim when an accident is reported, as opposed to legal obligation systems in which victims are covered by the general social security system. Among the eastern or Baltic EU countries, which mostly have legal obligation systems, Slovenia (1 337 per 100 000) and Estonia (999 per 100 000) were the only ones to report an incidence rate of more than 800 non-fatal accidents per 100 000 employed people. By far the lowest standardised incidence rates were reported in Romania and Bulgaria, at 58 and 81 non-fatal work accidents per 100 000 employed people, respectively; again, it should be noted that these values may reflect a relatively high degree of under-reporting.

Figure 4: Non-fatal accidents at work, 2022
(standardised incidence rates per 100 000 employed people)
Source: Eurostat (hsw_mi01)

Analysis by activity

As noted above, the incidence of accidents may be higher for men (than for women) due to the economic activities where they are more likely to work. Indeed, the number of accidents at work varies greatly depending upon the economic activity in question (see Figure 5) and is positively skewed in relation to male-dominated activities.

Within the EU, the construction, transportation and storage, manufacturing, and agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors together accounted for 65.6% of all fatal accidents at work in 2022 and 43.0% of all non-fatal accidents at work. Close to a quarter (22.9%) of all fatal accidents at work in the EU took place within the construction sector, while transportation and storage (15.6%) had the next highest share. Manufacturing (15.2%) and agriculture, forestry and fishing (11.8%) were the only other NACE sections for which double-digit shares of the total number of fatal accidents were recorded.

Non-fatal accidents were relatively common within manufacturing (18.0% of the total in the EU in 2022), human health and social work activities (15.8%), construction (12.2%) and distributive trades (11.7%); these 4 sections were the only NACE sections for which double-digit shares of the total number of non-fatal accidents were recorded.

Figure 5: Fatal and non-fatal accidents at work by NACE section, EU, 2022
(% of fatal and non-fatal accidents)
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_01) and (hsw_n2_02)

Analysis by type of injury

Figure 6 presents an analysis of data according to the type of injury sustained when people were involved in accidents. In the EU, there were 2 types of particularly common injuries in 2022, namely, wounds and superficial injuries (27.6% of the total) and dislocations, sprains and strains (25.5%). These were followed by 2 other relatively common types, namely concussion and internal injuries (18.7%) and bone fractures (10.8%). None of the other types of injuries accounted for a double-digit share of the total number of accidents in the EU, with the next highest shares for poisonings and infections (5.3%) and for shocks (3.8%).

Although not shown in this article, the data collected in the context of ESAW also include an analysis of which body parts were injured in accidents (such as the head, neck, back, torso and organs, arms and hands, legs and feet) as well as information on the causes and circumstances of accidents.

Figure 6: Fatal and non-fatal accidents at work by type of injury, EU, 2022
(% of accidents)
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_07)

Source data for tables and graphs

Accidents at work: tables and figures

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.

The statistics presented for accidents at work refer to declarations made either to 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.

The data generally relate to all economic activities, unless otherwise specified. For example, the analyses in Figures 3 and 4 cover NACE Sections A and C to N. Because the frequency of accidents at work varies between NACE activities – high risk activities include agriculture, forestry and fishing, manufacturing, construction, distributive trades, and transportation and storage – a standardisation procedure is performed to facilitate the comparison of national data. A direct standardisation method is used with weights calculated for the European reference population: the weights represent the proportion of the reference (working) population in each NACE activity. National incidence rates are calculated for each NACE activity and these are combined using the fixed set of EU weights to produce an overall standardised incidence rate for the EU country concerned. More details are available in a methodological note.

Statistics on accidents at work may reflect under-coverage or under-reporting. Under-coverage exists when the relevant population is not covered by the data source for accidents, for example when a certain economic sector or employment type is excluded. Under-reporting relates to the situation where an accident occurs but is not reported although the related economic sector is included. The extent of under-coverage of ESAW data can be analysed partially by comparing the reference population (of workers) in ESAW with data derived from the LFS. Under-reporting is more difficult to analyse and establish but some comparisons are available. Comparing results from the reporting systems used for the legal obligation to report an accident with systems based on insurance reports is one method; this may indicate under-reporting in the system for the legal obligation of accidents or over-reporting in insurance systems. Another method is to compare (geographically or over time) the ratio of fatal to non-fatal accidents, as the reporting of fatal accidents can be expected to be accurate due to their severe nature. Comparisons can also be made with data from household surveys, for example from the LFS (which includes periodic modules on accidents at work and work-related health problems).

In addition, changes in the way data are collected and processed in EU countries may have an influence on the number and incidence of accidents at work in a particular year. For example, on 30 June 2016 a number of derogations from provisions in the EU regulation governing ESAW ended for several EU countries. This had a significant effect on the data concerning accidents at work for reference year 2014. For example, for the 1st time French data included full coverage of all employees in economic sectors covered by NACE Sections A to S. This led to a substantial apparent increase in the number of accidents recorded in France (compared with 2013). In a similar vein, the 2014 data for Belgium included information pertaining to accidents in the public sector for the 1st time and this also resulted in an increase in the reported number of accidents. In 2016, some correction factors were removed from Greek data by the national statistical authority due to methodological issues which caused a considerable decrease in the number of accidents reported for reference year 2014 (compared with 2013); it is expected that a more complete Greek dataset will be received in the coming years and that this is likely to lead to a higher number of reported accidents. Finally, Dutch and Norwegian data (the latter are not included in the EU total) for the 2014 reference year for non-fatal accidents decreased significantly due to methodological issues.

Context

A safe, healthy working environment is a crucial factor in an individual's quality of life and is also a collective concern. Governments in EU countries 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.

The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Article 153) states that '[...] the Union shall support and complement the activities of the EU Member States in the following fields: (a) improvement in particular of the working environment to protect workers' health and safety; [...]'.

The main principles governing the protection of workers' health and safety are laid down in a 1989 framework Directive (89/391/EEC), the basic objective of which is to encourage improvements in occupational health and safety. All sectors of activity, both public and private, are covered by this legislation, which establishes the principle that the employer has a duty to ensure workers' health and safety in all aspects relating to work, while the worker has an obligation to follow the employer's health and safety instructions and report potential dangers.

Within this field, the European Commission's policy agenda for the period 2021–27 was set out in the Communication EU strategic framework on health and safety at work 2021–27 (COM(2021) 323 final). This aims to ensure that the EU continues to play a leading role in the promotion of high standards for working conditions within the EU as well as further afield. The communication outlined 3 major challenges:

anticipating and managing change in the new world of work brought about by the green, digital and demographic transitions
improving prevention of workplace accidents and illnesses
increasing preparedness for any potential future health crises.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the crucial importance of health policy, including health and safety at work. The European Commission is working towards providing strategic policy orientations that aim to contribute to the improvement of the health and safety of workers across the EU. This is particularly important with respect to a new set of risks, such as those resulting from new ways of working, new technologies and digitalisation, or the impact of pandemics and associated containment measures, alongside more traditional risks of accidents at work, such as exposure to dangerous substances.

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 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 unusually large 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. These activities were generally characterised by higher numbers of reported accidents at work during the pandemic, especially when COVID-19 cases of occupational origin were included (following national practices 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 an overall decrease in the reported number of accidents at work for reference year 2020, while there was a partial rebound across most EU countries and many economic activities during 2021 and 2022.

Explore further

Database

Health, see

Health and safety at work (hsw)

Accidents at work (ESAW, 2008 onwards) (hsw_acc_work)

Main indicators (hsw_mi)

Details by NACE Rev. 2 activity (2008 onwards) (hsw_n2)

Causes and circumstances of accidents at work (ESAW phase III) (hsw_ph3)

Accidents at work (ESAW) - until 2007 (hsw_acc7_work)

Accidents at work and other work-related health problems (source LFS) (hsw_apex)

Work related health problems and accidental injuries - LFS 1999 (hsw_inj_pb)

Occupational diseases (EODS; 2013 onwards) - experimental statistics (hsw_occ)

Thematic section

Health

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

European statistics on accidents at work (ESAW) – Summary methodology – 2013 edition

External links