The European Commission has released road fatality figures for 2025, reporting 19,350 deaths due to road crashes, representing a 3% decrease from 2024 and a 15% decrease from 2019.
It’s equivalent to 580 fewer deaths on European roads compared to 2024, and 3,400 fewer deaths compared to 2019. While this significant achievement reaffirms the EU's position as one of the world's safest regions for road travel, the majority of Member States are not yet on track to meet the EU target of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030.
Results confirm that only five countries are on course to meet the 50% reduction target in road deaths by 2030: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Poland and Romania. Despite their progress since 2019, Bulgaria and Romania, alongside Croatia, continue to have the highest fatality rates in the EU when measuring deaths per million inhabitants (71, 68 and 65 deaths per million respectively), while at the opposite end of the ranking, Sweden and Denmark report the lowest fatality rates, with 19 and 24 deaths per million inhabitants respectively.
Based on the reported data, elderly people are more often victims of road crashes than other age groups, while passenger cars and vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcycle users and are the most exposed to road casualties. Finally, most road deaths happen in rural roads outside urban areas.
Apostolos Tzitzikostas, European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, said: “Road safety is about more than rules and regulations. It is about protecting lives and preventing tragedies that affect families and communities across Europe.
“In the European Union, every life lost on our roads is one too many. Our goal is clear: to ensure that every citizen, wherever they travel and whatever their mode of transport, can reach their destination. This means making our roads safer, strengthening prevention and ensuring that every journey ends safely.”
Estimates for the first half of 2026
Provisional data shows that the number of countries reporting a reduction of fatalities above 5% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025 is higher than those which report increases in road deaths, hinting a positive signal for the EU in reducing road fatalities in 2026.
These provisional figures should, however, be interpreted with caution. In some countries, due to small numbers, these figures are subject to significant year-on-year fluctuations. Furthermore, road fatalities are subject to seasonality, with higher incidence of crashes over the summer period.
The European Commission will continue to monitor these trends closely and support Member States in addressing emerging concerns.