Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania have the highest rates of fatal road accidents in Europe, according to research by Vignette Switzerland cited by Euronews.
Serbia recorded 74 road deaths per million residents in 2025, a figure 72 percent above the EU average. Despite a slight drop from 2024, the country tops the ranking for the second year running.
Bulgaria placed second with 71 deaths per million, followed by Romania in third with 68. Portugal, Greece, Italy and France also appear in the ten countries with the highest fatal accident rates.
Road accidents kill roughly 1.34 million people worldwide each year, and more than 50 million others sustain injuries of varying severity.
Who Is Improving Most
Over the past decade, Lithuania has made the greatest progress, cutting its road death rate by 43 percent. Latvia reduced its rate by 37 percent, Bulgaria by 36 percent, Greece by 35 percent and Hungary by 30 percent.
Portugal, by contrast, has achieved only a one percent reduction since 2015, while France has managed six percent.
Safest Roads in the North
The safest countries for drivers remain in northern Europe. Norway and Sweden each recorded 19 road deaths per million residents in 2025, nearly four times fewer than Serbia.
