The World in Stats

Traffic Accidents

Traffic accidents are a major cause of injury and death around the world, affecting drivers, passengers, cyclists, pedestrians and other road users. The number and severity of road deaths differ greatly between places because of traffic volume, road design, vehicle safety, driving behaviour and access to emergency care. Examining these figures helps reveal where risks are concentrated and how they have changed. This page compares global regions and countries, the United States and Great Britain. It looks at deaths relative to vehicles and distance travelled, the people killed in different kinds of travel, trends over time and the factors recorded in serious collisions.

Statistics

  1. Road deaths per 100,000 motor vehicles by WHO region, 2013
  2. Traffic deaths per 100 million vehicle miles by US Census region, 2024
  3. Road-user deaths per 100 million vehicle miles in five populous states, 2024
  4. Ten countries with the highest estimated road death rates, 2021
  5. Most recorded road safety factors in serious GB collisions, 2025
  6. Where global road traffic deaths occurred, 2021
  7. Who dies on the world’s roads, 2021
  8. US traffic fatalities, 2015–2025
  9. US pedestrian deaths, 2015–2024
  10. Speed and other “Fatal Four” factors in GB fatal collisions, 2025

1. Road deaths per 100,000 motor vehicles by WHO region, 2013

The earlier regional comparison remains startling: the WHO African Region had about 574 road deaths for every 100,000 registered vehicles in the 2013 data, against 19 in the European Region. The Eastern Mediterranean stood at 139 and South-East Asia at 101, while the Western Pacific and the Americas were much lower. Rapid motorisation exposed many people to roads where safe crossings, protected walking space, vehicle standards and emergency care had not kept pace.

These are the historical figures behind the original chart, clearly dated because a directly comparable newer regional vehicle-denominator series is not supplied in the latest WHO report. Africa’s road safety problem has certainly not disappeared: WHO’s 2021 assessment attributes 19% of global deaths to the region, despite its having only about 3% of the world’s vehicles. Europe accounted for 5% of deaths and around 20% of vehicles.

Sources: WHO, Global status report on road safety 2015, 2013 regional figures; WHO, 2023 global road safety report

2. Traffic deaths per 100 million vehicle miles by US Census region, 2024

The South again has the highest road death rate of the four US Census regions, at about 1.32 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles in 2024. The West follows at 1.27, the Midwest at 1.03, and the Northeast is lowest at 0.92. This is a measure of the amount driven, so the gap cannot simply be explained by the South having more people or more miles of travel. Mississippi reached 1.81 deaths per 100 million miles and South Carolina 1.67, while Massachusetts was at 0.59.

The pattern resembles the original comparison, but the Northeast–South difference should not be pinned on one policy explanation. Higher-speed rural roads, differences in vehicle mix, seatbelt use, impaired driving and access to trauma care can all shape outcomes. The national figure in the same series was 1.19 deaths per 100 million miles.

Sources: IIHS Fatality Facts 2024, state deaths and vehicle miles

3. Road-user deaths per 100 million vehicle miles in five populous states, 2024

Texas has the highest pickup and SUV occupant rate of these five states, reflecting 1,303 deaths against 308.5 billion vehicle miles travelled. California’s largest visible category is car occupants, with 1,220 deaths, but its 1,090 pedestrian deaths are close behind. Florida has especially prominent motorcyclist and bicyclist bars: 642 motorcyclists and 201 bicyclists died there in 2024. The different mixtures matter because a single overall road death rate can conceal whether the greatest burden falls on people inside vehicles or outside them.

New York’s car and pickup occupant rates are lower than those of Texas or Florida, while pedestrian deaths remain substantial at 289. Its dense urban population and public transport use offer a plausible part of the context, without proving a single cause. Pennsylvania falls between the extremes for several categories.

Sources: IIHS Fatality Facts 2024, deaths by road user and state

4. Ten countries with the highest estimated road death rates, 2021

Guinea leads the WHO’s comparable 2021 country estimates at 37.4 road deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. Libya follows at 34.0, then Haiti at 31.3 and Guinea-Bissau at 30.5. Zimbabwe and Syria each stand at 29.9; Yemen, Comoros, Kenya and Nepal complete the ten. The old ranking placed Zimbabwe above 40 and included Liberia and Eritrea among the leaders, drawing on older, mixed-year figures. Updating all countries to the WHO 2021 series changes both the top country and the make-up of the list.

Five of these countries are in the WHO African Region, with three in the Eastern Mediterranean, one in the Americas and one in South-East Asia. The concentration reflects the unequal protection described in the original page: the quality of roads and vehicles, enforcement, emergency treatment and safe space for people walking or cycling can strongly affect survival.

Sources: WHO Global status report on road safety 2023, 2021 country indicators; WHO data country profiles and indicator definitions

5. Most recorded road safety factors in serious GB collisions, 2025

In Great Britain, ineffective observation by a driver, rider or pedestrian was recorded in half of fatal or serious collisions in 2025. Poor turns or manoeuvres at junctions came next at 22%. Travelling too fast for conditions and exceeding a limit each appeared in 16%, while aggressive or dangerous driving appeared in 15%. This broadly supports the original page’s emphasis on human attention and decisions, but the older pie chart blended broad categories with their component behaviours and gave a misleading impression that every crash had one exclusive cause.

Distraction was assigned in 12% of these severe collisions, and alcohol, driver inexperience and passing too close each appeared in 9%. The factors can combine: a driver may fail to notice someone while also travelling too quickly, for example. In fatal collisions specifically, speed factors appeared in 52%, compared with 34% of collisions across all severities.

Sources: UK Department for Transport, Road safety factors in Great Britain, 2025

6. Where global road traffic deaths occurred, 2021

South-East Asia and the Western Pacific together accounted for 53% of global road traffic deaths in WHO’s 2021 estimates. Both have large populations and extensive road networks, so their shares of the worldwide toll exceed that of Africa, even though Africa has the highest death rate per resident and a far smaller vehicle fleet. Africa accounted for 19% of deaths; the Americas for 12%, the Eastern Mediterranean for 11% and Europe for 5%.

These regional shares help put the original vehicle-based ranking in perspective. South and East Asian countries contain many fast-growing cities and large numbers of people who travel by motorcycle, cycle or on foot. In Africa, deaths rose between 2010 and 2021 while Europe recorded a substantial reduction, according to WHO’s later progress update. Worldwide deaths were estimated at 1.19 million for 2021, with an updated WHO estimate of about 1.16 million in 2025.

Sources: WHO, 2023 road safety regional estimates; WHO, July 2026 progress update

7. Who dies on the world’s roads, 2021

Pedestrians represented 23% of worldwide road traffic deaths in the WHO’s 2021 breakdown, and people on motorcycles or other powered two- and three-wheelers another 21%. Cyclists accounted for 6% and micromobility users, including e-scooter riders, 3%. Taken together, those exposed travellers made up just over half the global death toll. Occupants of cars and other light four-wheel vehicles accounted for 30%. This profile makes clear why safer cars alone cannot solve the road safety problem: much of the risk is borne by people outside them.

A road designed for high vehicle speeds can put someone crossing on foot at severe risk, while widespread motorcycle travel exposes riders to crashes without a protective vehicle body. WHO reported that pedestrian deaths rose to roughly 274,000 and cyclist deaths to about 71,000 between 2010 and 2021. Safer crossings, lower speeds, protected cycling space, helmets and predictable junction design all address different parts of this toll.

Sources: WHO, 2023 global road safety report and road-user shares

8. US traffic fatalities, 2015–2025

US road deaths rose sharply after 2019, from 36,355 that year to 43,230 in 2021. The increase coincided with the disruption of travel during the pandemic and persisted beyond the first year of lockdowns. The toll then fell each year, reaching 39,254 in the completed 2024 data. NHTSA’s early estimate for 2025 is 36,640, about 6.7% below 2024 and close to the level before the pandemic. The fall is substantial, although tens of thousands of people still die on American roads each year.

Driving volume matters alongside the count. The 2025 preliminary fatality rate was 1.10 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles, down from the final 2024 rate of 1.19, even as vehicle mileage rose slightly. This points to an improvement beyond simply having fewer trips. The peak and subsequent decline are clear enough to discuss without assigning the change to a single law, enforcement campaign or vehicle technology.

Sources: FHWA, Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities, 1900–2024; NHTSA, early 2025 fatality estimate and final 2024 data

9. US pedestrian deaths, 2015–2024

Pedestrian deaths in the United States increased from 5,495 in 2015 to a peak of 7,593 in 2022, before easing to 7,080 in 2024. The recent decline is welcome, but the 2024 toll was still nearly 29% above its 2015 level. Pedestrians also made up 18% of all traffic fatalities in 2024, compared with 15% in 2015. That shift means the overall improvement in road deaths has not restored the earlier position for people travelling on foot.

Most pedestrian fatalities occur in urban areas: IIHS puts the 2024 urban share at 84%. Three quarters occurred between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., and 62% happened on major roads other than interstates or freeways. These patterns direct attention towards lighting, crossing opportunities and speeds on the ordinary roads that connect shops, homes and bus stops. A quarter of 2024 pedestrian deaths occurred in hit-and-run crashes, up from about one fifth during 2015–19.

Sources: IIHS Fatality Facts 2024, pedestrians and annual FARS counts

10. Speed and other “Fatal Four” factors in GB fatal collisions, 2025

Speed was involved in 52% of fatal road collisions in Great Britain in 2025, the largest of the four priority factors reported by the Department for Transport. Alcohol or drugs featured in 21%, a person not wearing a seatbelt in 9%, and use of a mobile device in 3%. At least one of the four appeared in 63% of fatal collisions. Speed does more than increase the chance of losing control: it also increases the force of a collision and reduces the time available to react to another road user.

The figures show why policies that tackle speed, impairment and restraints remain central even when a broad behaviour chart is dominated by observation errors. Alcohol or drug impairment can combine with speeding, and a mobile device may contribute to a missed hazard. The categories overlap, so their percentages must not be added to infer a share of crashes.

Sources: UK Department for Transport, risk behaviours and circumstances, 2025