The European Union (EU) accounts for approximately 1.7 % of global road traffic fatalities. The provisional 2024 figures report 20 017 deaths across the 27 EU Member States, representing a decrease of – 2 % compared with 2023 and – 12 % compared with 2019, the reference year for the decade. By comparison, France has recorded only a slight decrease since 2019 (– 2 %) and an increase since 2023 (+ 1 %).
The EU’s objective for the decade is to halve the number of road fatalities and serious injuries by 2030, which implies reducing the number of deaths in the EU to below 11 400, corresponding to an average annual reduction of – 6.1 % between 2019 and 2030.
According to preliminary 2024 estimates, the largest decreases compared with 2023 were observed in Luxembourg (– 31 %), Malta (– 25 %) and Lithuania (– 24 %). However, road mortality increased in five countries, including France (+ 1 %), Estonia (+ 17 %) and, most notably, Cyprus (+ 21 %).
France’s share of road traffic fatalities in the EU-27 amounts to 15.9 % ; while its share of the population is lower (14.8 %). The number of road deaths per million inhabitants in the EU stands at 45 in 2024, compared with 48 in France. In 2024, the number of deaths per million inhabitants in the EU ranges from 20 in Sweden to 77 in Romania, with 33 in Germany, 36 in Spain and 51 in Italy.
In 2023, across Europe, young people aged 15 to 24 accounted for 10.6 % of the population but 13.7 % of road traffic fatalities. In France, whereas in 2010 they represented 12.4 % of the population and 24.8 % of fatalities, they now account for 12 % and 18.8 %, respectively.
With regard to the senior population (aged 65 and over), the situation in France is more favourable than the European average. In 2023, seniors accounted for 29.9 % of road traffic fatalities in Europe, while representing 21.3 % of the population. In France, they accounted for 28 % of fatalities and 21.1 % of the population. The cases of Germany (37.7 % of fatalities for 22.2 % of the population) and the Netherlands (43.8 % and 20.2 %, respectively) are particularly striking and highlight the risks faced by seniors on the road.
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