EU road deaths fall 3% but Cyprus heads for year-on-year increase in fatalities
Source: in-cyprus.com
Road deaths across the European Union fell by 3% in 2024 to approximately 19,800, continuing a decade-long downward trend, according to data recently published by the European Parliament.
However, Cyprus is heading towards a negative record, with 40 deaths recorded in 36 accidents up to 14 November 2025, compared with 41 deaths for all of last year, according to philenews.
The EU figures show deaths have declined steadily since 2015, when road fatalities reached 24,358. A sharp drop occurred in 2020, when deaths fell to 18,830, attributed mainly to mobility restrictions and reduced passenger transport during the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to official data, 2023 was Cyprus’s best year on record since data collection began, with 32 fatal accidents resulting in 34 deaths. In 2022, there were 37 fatal accidents with 35 deaths, whilst 2021 saw 44 fatal accidents with 45 deaths and 2020 recorded 48 fatal accidents with 48 deaths.
Sweden recorded the highest road safety levels with 20 deaths per million inhabitants, followed by Denmark with 24 deaths per million. Romania had the highest mortality rate in 2024 with 77 deaths per million inhabitants, followed by Bulgaria with 74 deaths per million. The EU average stood at 44 road deaths per million inhabitants.
Men accounted for 77% of road deaths in 2023, equivalent to three out of four fatalities, according to European Parliament data. People over 65 represented 31% of all road deaths in 2023, up from 28% in 2019, despite comprising only 21% of the total population. Young people aged 18-24 represented 12% of road victims whilst making up only 7% of the population.
About 52% of fatal accidents in the EU occurred on rural roads, 38% in urban areas and 9% on motorways in 2023.
Bulgaria’s Severozapaden region recorded the highest rate in the EU with 166 road deaths per million inhabitants in 2023, Eurostat announced last week. The neighbouring Severen tsentralen region also reported a high rate with 107 deaths per million inhabitants.
Greece’s Ionian Islands region followed with 120 deaths and the South Aegean with 119 deaths per million inhabitants. France’s Guyana region ranked fourth with 117 deaths, whilst Romania’s Sud-Vest Oltenia and Sud-Est regions recorded 107 and 102 deaths respectively.
The lowest mortality rates were recorded in Belgium’s Brussels Capital Region with 5 deaths per million inhabitants, Vienna with 6 deaths and Berlin with 9 deaths per million. Two EU regions reported no road deaths at all: Finland’s Åland and Spain’s Ciudad de Melilla.
The European Parliament approved stricter and more modern rules for European driving licences on 21 October, aiming to achieve zero road deaths by 2050. The rules include establishing safe speed limits of 30km/h in residential areas, introducing digital driving licences, implementing probationary periods for novice drivers, allowing licence suspension across all member states for serious offences, and mandating certain safety features in all vehicles.
The EU has also strengthened rules for road infrastructure safety management and is working to ensure common rules for autonomous vehicles.
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