In 2025, road deaths in Europe will drop to 19,400 (-3%), but the pace is not enough to hit the 2030 target. Strong differences between countries, Italy lagging behind. A faster annual decline is necessary, the social costs remain enormous
In Europe less and less deaths on the roadsbut the decrease is insufficient to halve the victims by 2030. Despite the undoubted progress in road safety, the latest calculations by the European Commission indicate that in 2025 around 19,400 people lost their lives on the road, the 3% less (just under 600 people) compared to the previous year. “Most member countries are not yet on track to reach the EU target of halving deaths and serious injuries on roads by 2030,” warns the Commission.
EXTREME
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There are important differences between countries. The calculations of the community body reward the efforts of Estonia and Greecewhere mortality dropped from 50 deaths per million inhabitants in 2024 to 31 in 2025 (-38%) in the first case and from 64 to 50 (-22%) in the second. The data elaborated by the Commission are preliminary, but they highlight trends that are in some cases quite clear. Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Poland and Romania, for example, are all on track to halve the number of deaths by the end of the decade. Two of them, however, that is Bulgaria and Romaniathey still pay a worse starting condition. Despite the downward trend, in fact, they remain among the European countries with the most road deaths: last year in Bulgaria there were 71 victims per million inhabitants, the worst figure in Europe after Romania (68) and Croatia (67). The reference, so to speak, is Sweden and Norway with 20 deaths per million inhabitants. Italy is a bit delayed: in 2025 the mortality rate decreased by 4%, from 51 to 49 deaths per million, compared to 2019 the drop is greater but still modest (-9%).
IT’S NOT ENOUGH
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Looking at the European Union as a whole, from 45 road deaths per million inhabitants in 2024 we went to 43 in 2025, with a decrease of 15% compared to 2019 and 3% compared to 2024. The efforts, in short, are going in the right direction, but they are still insufficient: to reach the objective of halving road deaths by 2030 an annual reduction of 4.6% would be necessary. “Despite important progress, we must step up our efforts, act faster and with greater determination. The actions we take today will support Member States in saving thousands of lives, reducing the economic and social costs of road accidents and ensuring that Europe remains a global leader in car safety and innovation”, explained the European Commissioner for Transport, Apostolos Tzitzikostas. Road accidents have enormous costs for the European economy, around 2% of gross domestic product. It is estimated that for every victim there are five people who are seriously injured, which means that every year around 100,000 people across the continent suffer permanent injuries due to a road accident.
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