Is the global road death rate falling?
As of 2021, road traffic death rate is 15 per 100,000: −16% since 2010.
Why it changed
The global road death rate fell from about 18 to 15 per 100,000 people between 2010 and 2021, even as world population grew by nearly a billion and the vehicle fleet more than doubled — the result of safer vehicles, speed limits, and better-engineered roads working together, not one breakthrough. That said, still, about 1.19 million people die on the roads every year (92% of them in low- and middle-income countries), only six countries (2022) meet WHO best-practice legislation across all five key risk factors, and the rate even ticked back up from 14 to 15 in 2021 after the pandemic-era dip.
Source · WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023 CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023, via WHO Global Health Observatory) Last reviewed 2026-07-07
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What is the source for this number?
WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023. Last reviewed 2026-07-07 — CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023, via WHO Global Health Observatory).
How has this changed since 2010?
−16% since 2010. As of 2021, road traffic death rate stands at 15 per 100,000.
What still isn't solved?
Still, about 1.19 million people die on the roads every year (92% of them in low- and middle-income countries), only six countries (2022) meet WHO best-practice legislation across all five key risk factors, and the rate even ticked back up from 14 to 15 in 2021 after the pandemic-era dip.