Final official data: Bulgaria had EU’s second-highest road death rate in 2024
Bulgaria had the European Union’s second-highest road death rate in 2024, the European Commission (EC) said in final official data on October 20, following the release of provisional data in March.
The EU’s highest road death rate in 2024 was in Romania, at 78 per million population. A total of 1478 people died in road accidents in Romania last year.
In Bulgaria, there were 478 road deaths last year, a rate of 74 per million population.
The number of road fatalities in 2024 in Bulgaria was nine per cent lower than in 2023, 24 per cent lower than in 2019 and 25 per cent lower than the average for 2017 to 1019.
In 2024, 19 940 people lost their lives in road crashes across the EU, the EC said.
“This represents a two per cent decrease compared to 2023 and marks continued, but slow, progress toward the EU’s Vision Zero goal of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030 and getting close to eliminating them by 2050,” the Commission said.
At 45 deaths per million population, the EU continues to have among the safest roads globally, the statement said.
“However, behind these statistics are thousands of families and communities affected by tragic and preventable losses.”
Notable improvements were recorded in several countries, with examples including Lithuania (-22 per cent), Latvia (-19 per cent) and Austria (-13 per cent), demonstrating the effectiveness of recent road safety interventions.
The EC said that concerning increases were observed in a small number of member states such as Estonia (+17 per cent) and Cyprus (+21 per cent). “However, these percentages are based on small absolute numbers. The majority of member states maintained stable figures or achieved modest improvements.”
The overall ranking of countries’ fatality rates has not changed significantly, with the safest roads in Sweden (20 deaths per million inhabitants) and Denmark (24/million).
(Photo: Petr Pavel/ freeimages.com)
