In 2024, 19,940 people lost their lives in road crashes across the EU, according to the latest statistics released by the European Commission on 17th October. This represents a 2% decrease compared to 2023 and marks continued, but slow, progress toward the EU's Vision Zero goal of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030 and getting close to eliminating them by 2050.
Progress continues amid persistent challenges
At 45 deaths per million population, the EU continues to have among the safest roads globally. However, behind these statistics are thousands of families and communities affected by tragic and preventable losses.
Notable improvements were recorded in several countries, with examples including Lithuania (-22%), Latvia (-19%) and Austria (-13%), demonstrating the effectiveness of recent road safety interventions. Concerning increases were observed in a small number of Member States, such as Estonia (+17%) and Cyprus (+21%). However, these percentages are based on small absolute numbers. The majority of Member States maintained stable figures or achieved modest improvements.
The overall ranking of countries’ fatality rates has not changed significantly, with the safest roads in Sweden (20 deaths per million inhabitants) and Denmark (24/million), while Romania (78/million) and Bulgaria (74/million) reported the highest fatality rates in 2024. Detailed figures per country are available here.
The figures published today reveal the final numbers of road fatalities for 2024, following the publication of preliminary data in March 2025.
Estimates for the first semester of 2025
Provisional data for the first six months of 2025 shows mixed trends across Member States. While some countries like Greece, Czechia, Estonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Slovakia are giving positive signals with declining fatalities, others face renewed challenges. These early indicators underscore that road safety requires constant vigilance and sustained effort. The European Commission will continue to monitor these trends closely and support Member States in addressing emerging concerns.
Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas stated: “While these figures show continued progress, we must always remember that behind every statistic there are families and communities in pain. The fact that nearly 20,000 people lost their lives in road crashes last year is unacceptable. The European Commission will keep supporting all Member States in making roads safer. But this is a shared effort: governments, the industry, and every road user have a role to play in ensuring every trip ends safely .”
Excellence in Road Safety Awards
On 16 October, the Commission hosted the annual Excellence in Road Safety Awards. These awards recognise the contributions of the European Road Safety Charter's community of members towards the common goal of improved road safety across Europe.
Over 100 initiatives were nominated for this prestigious accolade, with 15 projects being shortlisted.
The award winners were selected by an independent jury from over 100 nominees, across five award categories: projects addressing driving under the influence and distraction; road safety education projects; projects involving technology for road safety; projects addressing road safety for older people and the urban road safety award, open to municipalities.
The 2025 EU Excellence in Road Safety Award Winners:
Projects addressing driving under the influence or driver distraction: FlineBox:
- For safer driving decisions : Road Safety Authority Ireland and Fline (Ireland & Belgium)
Road Safety Education Projects:
- Road safety awareness for school children: Volvo Car España (Spain)
Projects addressing the road safety of older people
- Lifelong safe and active mobility: Madlencnik Mobility – Easy Drivers Radfahrschule (Austria)
Projects focusing on technology for road safety
- Lanternn: AI & data fusion for road safety: Valerann, Transport Infrastructure Ireland & Roughan & O’Donovan (Spain & Ireland)
Urban road safety
- Safer surroundings for secondary schools: Métropole de Lyon (France)
People's Choice Award
- 30 Marathons for 30km/h: The NTUA Road Safety Observatory (Greece)
Source: European Commission