Roughly 1,478 people died in road accidents in Romania in 2024, and 19,940 in the entire European Union, according to the latest statistics released by the European Commission. As such, Romania accounted for 7.41% of all traffic deaths in the EU last year.
Overall, the EU saw a 2% decrease in road deaths compared to 2023, continuing a downward trend and nearing the EU Vision Zero goal of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030 and getting close to eliminating them by 2050.
At 45 deaths per million population, the EU continues to have among the safest roads globally. However, thousands of families still lose loved ones on EU roads each year.
The overall ranking of countries’ fatality rates has not changed significantly from the last report, 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.
However, notable improvements were recorded in several countries, with examples including Lithuania (-22%), Latvia (-19%), and Austria (-13%).
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, according to the Commission.
Provisional data for the first six months of 2025 show 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.
“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,” said Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas.
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