Number of traffic deaths in the EU fell by three percent last year

TALLINN - According to preliminary data published by the European Commission, 19,400 people were killed in road accidents in the EU in 2025, a decrease of 580 people, or three percent, compared to 2024.

This is a positive sign, considering that the number of vehicles on EU roads has increased and more kilometers have been driven. The EU's goal is to reduce the number of road deaths and serious injuries by half by 2030.

European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, said that road safety is a shared responsibility. "The number of road deaths has been steadily decreasing across the EU, and this shows that our joint efforts are paying off. But every life we lost on our roads last year could have been saved. We must work more closely with Member States, businesses, and road users to make our roads safer and move firmly towards our goal of reducing road deaths to zero by 2050."

The improvement in road safety varies greatly from country to country. Between 2024 and 2025, the number of road deaths decreased significantly in Estonia and Greece, with reductions of 38 and 22 percent, respectively. According to preliminary data, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Poland, and Romania remain on track to halve the number of road deaths by 2030.

As in previous years, roads in 2025 were safest in Sweden and Denmark, which had low fatality rates (20 and 24 deaths per million inhabitants, respectively).

For every person killed, an estimated five people are seriously injured. This means that approximately 97,000 people suffer serious injuries in road accidents across the EU each year.

Rural roads continue to be the most dangerous, accounting for more than half, or 53 percent, of fatal road accidents in 2024. In urban areas, pedestrians, cyclists, users of powered two-wheelers, and personal mobility devices make up 70 percent of all road accident fatalities. Traffic accidents in cities are predominantly fatal when they involve cars or trucks.

Significantly more men (77 percent) than women (23 percent) are killed in traffic. A growing concern is the disproportionately high share of road deaths among young people aged 18-24 and the elderly over 65, particularly among pedestrians and cyclists. The largest group of fatalities were car drivers and passengers (44 percent), followed by users of powered two-wheelers (motorcycles and mopeds) (21 percent), pedestrians (18 percent), and cyclists (nine percent). Between 2021 and 2024, the number of deaths involving electric scooters increased significantly.