Bulgaria had the highest road fatality rate in EU in 2023

Bulgaria had the highest road fatality rate in the EU, according to the European Commission's data on road fatalities on EU roads for 2023, released today, October 10. A total of 20,400 people lost their lives in crashes in Europe last year. A record high 82 deaths per million inhabitants were reported for the country, followed by Romania at 81 fatalities per million inhabitants.

The safest roads are in Sweden and Denmark, with 22 and 26 deaths per million inhabitants respectively.

The aggregate statistics for the EU show a reduction of only 1% compared to 2022 and represent an average of 46 deaths per million inhabitants.

Currently, around 400 people die every week in road accidents on European roads. The EU is working towards 'zero deaths' by 2050. The annual number of road deaths has almost halved between 2001 and 2010, but progress has slowed since then.

Although the long-term trend shows a 10% reduction compared to 2019, the current rate of reduction does not meet the EU's interim target of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030, which requires an annual reduction of 4.5%.