Road deaths in the European Union (EU) fell by 3% in 2024, to 19,800, compared to 2023, with Sweden having the lowest number (20 per million inhabitants) and Romania the highest (77 per million).
In a statement, the community executive highlights that despite there being 600 fewer deaths in road accidents between 2023 and 2024, “the global pace of improvement continues to be too slow and the majority of Member States are not on track to meet the EU objective of halving road deaths by 2030”.
Among EU countries, Sweden has the lowest number of road deaths (20 per million inhabitants) and Romania has the least safe roads (77 deaths per million), with Portugal in 22nd place with 56.
According to data released by the European Commission, the EU average is, according to preliminary data for 2024, 44 deaths in road accidents per million inhabitants, compared to 46 recorded in 2023.
Compared to 2019, the reduction in the rate of road deaths fell by 13% in the EU.
The statistics, says the statement, show that “countries such as Greece, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Slovakia show positive signs with a reduction in the number of deaths”.
Portugal recorded an annual reduction of 1%, from 61 to 60 deaths per million inhabitants and 13% compared to 2019.
“The fact that almost 20 thousand people lost their lives in road accidents last year is unacceptable”, said the European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas.
“We must accelerate efforts to improve road safety, especially for vulnerable road users and in high-risk areas, such as rural roads. Every death is one death too many,” he said.
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