BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Sweden and Denmark continue to have the safest roads in the European Union, according to the bloc's Road safety statistics for 2024.
In 2024, 19,940 people lost their lives in road crashes across the EU, according to statistics released by the European Commission. This is a 2 percent decrease from 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.
The overall ranking of countries' fatality rates has not changed significantly. Sweden, with 20 deaths per million inhabitants, and Denmark, close behind with 24 deaths per million, continue to have the safest roads in the EU, while Romania (78 deaths per million) and Bulgaria (74 deaths per million) reported the highest fatality rates in 2024.
At 45 deaths per million population, the EU continues to have among the safest roads globally.
Notable improvements were recorded in several countries, including Lithuania (-22 percent), Latvia (-19 percent) and Austria (-13 percent), demonstrating the effectiveness of recent road safety interventions. Concerning increases were observed in a small number of Member States such as Estonia (+17 percent) and Cyprus (+21 percent).
Provisional data for the first six months of 2025 shows mixed trends across Member States. While some countries like Greece, Czechia, Romania, and Slovakia are giving positive signals with declining fatalities, others face renewed challenges. The Commission said these early indicators underscore that road safety requires constant vigilance and sustained effort, and vowed to continue to monitor these trends closely and support Member States in addressing emerging concerns.
European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas said, 'While these figures show continued progress, we must always remember that behind every statistic there are families and communities in pain. The fact that nearly 20,000 people lost their lives in road crashes last year is unacceptable. The European Commission will keep supporting all Member States in making roads safer. But this is a shared effort: governments, the industry, and every road user have a role to play in ensuring every trip ends safely.'
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