EuroWire, BRUSSELS: Road deaths in the European Union fell by 3% in 2025, with about 19,400 people killed across the bloc, according to preliminary European Commission figures released on March 24. That marked around 580 fewer deaths than in 2024 and brought the EU fatality rate down to 43 deaths per million inhabitants from 45 per million a year earlier. The decline came despite higher traffic volumes, but the Commission said the latest results still leave most member states off pace to meet the bloc’s goal of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030.
Progress varied sharply across the EU, with Estonia and Greece recording the steepest year on year declines, at 38% and 22% respectively. Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Poland and Romania are currently assessed as being on track for the 2030 reduction target, based on preliminary and in some cases partial data. Romania, however, remained among the countries with the highest road fatality rates, alongside Bulgaria and Croatia, highlighting the wide gap that persists between the bloc’s best performing and worst performing road safety systems.
Sweden again posted the lowest road death rate in the EU in 2025, at 20 deaths per million inhabitants, followed by Denmark at 23. At the other end of the ranking, Bulgaria recorded 71 deaths per million people, Romania 68 and Croatia 67. Germany’s rate rose slightly from a year earlier, while Ireland, Austria, Slovenia and Finland also recorded increases, showing that the overall EU decline masked mixed national performances and that several countries remain vulnerable to reversals even as the regional trend moved lower.
National progress remains uneven
The figures released by the Commission are preliminary and will be revised when final 2025 data are published in autumn 2026. Several national estimates were based on incomplete information, including Spain, where only rural road data were available, and the Netherlands, where first half figures were used. No 2025 figures were available at the time of publication for Luxembourg. Even so, the Commission said the latest numbers provided a clear indication of the broader trend across the EU and the scale of the work still needed.
The EU set its current road safety target in 2018, aiming to cut road deaths and serious injuries by half by 2030 as part of a longer term Vision Zero strategy that seeks to eliminate road fatalities by 2050. A Commission mid point review published in February said the pace of improvement remained insufficient, with 19,940 people killed on Europe’s roads in 2024, down 12% from 2019 but still short of the annual rate of decline required to keep the bloc on track for the end of the decade.
Rural roads remain the highest risk
The latest detailed breakdown, based on 2024 data, showed rural roads remained the deadliest part of the network, accounting for 53% of fatalities, compared with 38% in urban areas and 8% on motorways. In towns and cities, vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and riders of powered two wheelers and personal mobility devices, made up 70% of those killed. Men represented 77% of all road deaths, while car drivers and passengers accounted for 44% of fatalities and users of powered two wheelers for 21%.
For every person killed in a road crash, the Commission estimates that about five more suffer serious injuries, leaving around 100,000 people across the EU with major trauma each year. The new figures show that the bloc is making gradual progress, but also that large differences in road safety outcomes remain across member states. Final 2025 results are due in autumn 2026, when national totals are set to be updated against the preliminary data and progress toward the 2030 target measured more precisely.