WHO Global Status Report · Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030
The Global Toll of Road Traffic Deaths
An estimated 1.19 million people died on the world’s roads in 2021 — a 5% fall since 2010, but far short of the goal to halve deaths by 2030. Explore who dies, where the burden falls, and which measures are saving lives.
Source: Global status report on road safety 2023 (Geneva: World Health Organization; 2023)
Explore · 2021 estimates
Road traffic deaths around the world
National fatality rate, per 100kFalling
Road traffic fatality rate by country
Deaths per 100 000 population, 2021 WHO estimate. Drag to spin, scroll to zoom, click a country for its detail. Grey = no estimate.
Selected: ×
LowerHigher
Who dies on the roads, 2021
Share of global road traffic deaths by road user type. Vulnerable road users — pedestrians, cyclists and riders of powered two- and three-wheelers — account for over half.
Highest & lowest death rates
Deaths per 100 000 population, 2021. Click a country to explore it on the map.
Highest 8
Lowest 8
Section 1
Regions and income groups
Where the deaths occur, 2021
Number of road traffic deaths by WHO region (bars) against the fatality rate per 100 000 (points).
Change in deaths since 2010
Percentage change in estimated road fatalities, 2010–2021. Africa is the only region with a marked rise; Europe has fallen furthest.
A tale of unequal burden
By country income level: share of world population, motor-vehicle fleet, paved inter-urban roads and road deaths (%). Low- and middle-income countries carry 92% of deaths.
Death rate rises as income falls
Road traffic fatality rate per 100 000 population by World Bank income group, 2021.
Low-income countries hold less than 1% of the world’s vehicles yet suffer the highest death rate.
Section 2
Progress towards halving deaths by 2030
WHO estimated road traffic deaths, 2000–2021
Global deaths (millions) peaked at 1.26 million in 2012 and have declined since. The dip in 2020 reflects COVID-19 mobility restrictions.
Selected years anchored to WHO revised estimates. 2021 is used to assess the Decade of Action, avoiding the atypical 2020 COVID year.
How far each country has come, 2010–2021
Number of countries by size of change in road traffic deaths. 108 countries reduced deaths; 66 saw a rise.
Fewer deathsMore deaths
Where deaths are still rising
Of the 66 countries where deaths rose, most are in the African Region and the Region of the Americas.
The 10 countries that halved deaths
Countries achieving a 50% or greater reduction in road traffic deaths between 2010 and 2021, across four WHO regions.
Section 3
Measures that mitigate the risk
Laws on the five key risk factors, 2022
Countries with a law versus countries whose law meets WHO best practice. Most countries have laws, but few meet best-practice criteria.
Has a lawMeets WHO best practiceNew since 2018
How many risk factors are covered
Number of countries by how many of the five key risk factors their laws address to WHO best practice. Only seven countries cover all five.
World population protected by best-practice laws
Percentage of the global population living in countries whose laws meet WHO best practice, by risk factor, 2022.
Beyond behaviour: the wider system
Selected safe-system gaps in vehicles, infrastructure and post-crash care.
Section 5 · Conclusions
What the data tells us to do next
Watchpoints