The data presented in this publication is used to monitor progress towards the corresponding target 3.6 of SDG 3: By 2020 halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents; as well as target 9.1 of SDG 9: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and trans-border infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all; and target 11.2 of SDG 11: By 2030 provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons.
With the objective of aiding countries in monitoring accident occurrences, identifying patterns, and devising strategies for enhancing road safety within the ECE region, the UNECE releases the “Statistics of Road Traffic Accidents in Europe and North America” every two years. This data-driven publication provides a comprehensive overview of fatalities and injuries caused by road traffic accidents.
The fifty-seventh edition of this publication is purely statistical in character and is limited to road traffic accidents involving personal injuries. Incidents that solely entail vehicle damage are excluded from the analysis.
Part I of the report presents an overview of road traffic accidents trends in the ECE region for the years 2011–2021. It also includes charts and summary tables depicting the overall trends related to road injuries and casualties.
The emphasis is placed on key metrics such as the number of accidents, fatalities, injuries, and mortality rates.
In part II of the report, accidents, fatalities and injuries are provided in more detail by country. These are organized in three tables as follows:
- Accidents, fatalities and injured persons by location, time of occurrence and road conditions.
- Accidents, fatalities and injuries by nature of the accident, such as accidents between vehicles, rear-end collisions, head-on collisions, and collisions at level crossings.
- Fatalities and injuries by gender and age groups.
Part III presents background statistics such as the road vehicle fleet, vehicle kilometres run and population distribution by age groups.
While this publication highlights the main variables concerning road traffic accidents deaths and injuries, it does not encompass all possible road traffic accidents outcomes. Its primary focus is to present an overview of the most significant findings. For complete details on road traffic accidents, please refer to the Road Safety statistics available online on the UNECE’s regularly updated Transport Statistics Database.
Transport in UNECE
The report was compiled by the Secretariat of UNECE on the basis of replies to questionnaires submitted by member countries and from official national and international sources as of August 2023. Data for the majority of European Union (EU) member States and European Free Trade Association countries came from the European Commission CARE database.
UNECE member countries and nomenclature
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America and Uzbekistan.
Comparability and limitations of data
The UNECE, in collaboration with Eurostat and the International Transport Forum, has made efforts to minimize the differences in reporting between countries through the publication and regular updates of the Glossary for Transport Statistics, the fifth edition of which is available at
www.unece.org/index.php?id=52120.
The data adhere to the commonly agreed upon definitions from the Glossary as approved by the UNECE Inland Transport Committee (see annex). Footnotes within the tables indicate instances where countries have provided explanations for deviations from these definitions.
The comparability of data is also subject to variations in road accident reporting standards. Notably, the number of accidents and the number of injuries may be underreported in some countries due to administrative or practical limitations. In particular, the data for injuries have the largest comparability challenges between countries.
It should be highlighted that Part II of this report includes responses to the questionnaires provided by the participating countries, reflecting their most recent available data. Consequently, the latest available year for data varies between 2020 and 2022.
While nearly all countries provide data on total fatalities and injured persons, not all of them report a complete breakdown of these data into the detailed categories presented in this publication. As a result, there are cases where the sum of disaggregated data does not align with the totals for categories.
Rounding
Where necessary, each figure has been rounded off to the nearest whole number. For this reason, some discrepancies may appear between the sum of the constituent items and the totals shown.
Time period
Most of the statistics are presented in the form of time series. In general, the data for the latest year should be considered provisional while those of previous years are final.
Data inquiries
Comments or enquiries are welcome and should be addressed to:
stat.trans@un.org.
