Traffic fatalities (i20)

  •  30/11/2023
  • objective 
  •  assessment 

In 2021, the number of traffic fatalities within 30 days, expressed per 100,000 inhabitants, was 4.5 in Belgium. To achieve the sustainable development goal by 2030, traffic fatalities must be halved. This objective will not be reached by continuing the trend since 2000 (data available in November 2023). The number of traffic fatalities within 30 days is therefore developing unfavourably.

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Traffic fatalities - Belgium - trend assessment

number within 30 days per 100,000 inhabitants

 20002005201020152020202120252030
observations14.410.87.86.84.34.5----
trend and extrapolation (November 2023)14.611.08.36.34.74.53.73.2
objective 20302.22.22.22.22.22.22.22.2

Eurostat (2021, 2022), Persons killed in road accidents by sex, tran_sf_roadse (data), tps00165 (ranking in EU), https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat (consulted on 20/10/2021 and on 26/10/2022); FPB calculations.

Traffic fatalities - Belgium and international comparison

number within 30 days per 100,000 inhabitants

 1995199920002005201020152016202020212021//19952021//20162021//1999
Belgium14.313.714.410.87.86.85.94.34.5-4.4-5.5-5.0
EU27--12.812.59.86.75.55.44.24.5---3.6-4.7
//: Average Growth Rates

Eurostat (2023), Persons killed in road accidents by sex, tran_sf_roadse (data), tps00165 (ranking in EU), https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat (consulted on 27/09/23).

Traffic fatalities by region - Belgium

number within 30 days per 100,000 inhabitants,

 199520002005201020152016202020212021//19952021//2016
Brussels-Capital Region4.74.63.12.92.51.41.30.7-7.3-14.3
Flemish Region13.114.79.77.16.15.23.84.7-3.9-2.3
Walloon Region19.116.615.110.89.48.76.35.4-4.7-9.0
//: Average Growth Rates

Statbel (2022), Mobility/Road accidents,https://statbel.fgov.be/ (consulted le 26/10/2022) and Eurostat (2022) Population change - Demographic balance and crude rates at national level, demo_gind3, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat (consulted on 26/10/2022); calculations FPB.

Traffic fatalities by sex - Belgium

number within 30 days per 100,000 inhabitants,

 199920002005201020152016202020212021//19992021//2016
females7.27.04.93.83.32.81.92.2-5.2-4.4
males20.422.016.212.110.49.26.86.8-4.9-5.9
//: Average Growth Rates

Eurostat (2022), Persons killed in road accidents by sex, tran_sf_roadse and Eurostat (2022), Population on 1 January by age and sex [demo_pjan], https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat (consulted on 26/10/2022); calculations FPB.

Definition: the indicator number of traffic fatalities within 30 days corresponds to the number of fatalities as a result of an accident, immediately or in the month following it. To make international comparisons possible, the number of fatalities is expressed in 100,000 inhabitants. Data come from police reports complemented by information from public prosecutor’s offices and compiled by Statistics Belgium, which makes them available, in particular to Eurostat. The data used here come from Eurostat, which publishes detailed and comparable results between EU Member States.

Goal: between 2020 and 2030, the number of traffic fatalities must be halved to reach 2.2 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in 2030.

The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs adopted by the UN in 2015 include target 3.6: “By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents”. Similarly, in Belgium, the Etats Généraux de la Sécurité Routière has set a target of halving the number of deaths between 2010 and 2020 (VIAS, 2019), which gives a target of 3.9 deaths within 30 days per 100,000 inhabitants in 2020.

In the longer term, the EU aims to reduce the number of road deaths to close to zero by 2050 (European Commission, 2018). This is also the case for Belgium. The Federal Long-Term Strategic Vision for Sustainable Development includes objective 24: “Mobility and transport will be provided in maximum safety conditions aiming at zero fatalities”.

For 2030, the European Union (Council of the European Union, 2017) calls for a target to halve the number of serious injuries on the roads between 2020 and 2030. This objective has been extended to the number of road deaths. In 2020, there were 4.3 fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants, thus a target of 2.2 in 2030.

International comparison: the number of traffic fatalities decreased by 66% between 2000 and 2021 within the EU27. With 4.5 fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants, Belgium is on the same level as the European average (4.5 fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants). When Member States are divided into three groups, Belgium is part of the group with average performance and is on a par with the European average in 2021. In that year, Malta ranked first with 1.7 fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants and Romania last with 9.3.

UN indicator: the selected indicator corresponds to 3.6.1 - Death rate due to road traffic injuries.

Sources

  • General

    • SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals: United Nations (2015), Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015, document A/RES/70/1.

    • Indicators: United Nations (2017), Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017, document A/RES/71/313.

    • UN Sustainable Development: https://sdgs.un.org/ (consulted on 18/01/2023).

    • UN Sustainable Development Goal indicators website: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/ (consulted on 18/01/2023).
  • Specific

    • European Commission (2018), Europe on the move, Sustainable Mobility for Europe: safe, connected, and clean, COM(2018) 293 final.

    • European Council (2017), Council conclusions on "Road safety endorsing the Valletta Declaration" (Valletta, 28-29/03/2017).

    • VIAS (2019), Lequeux Q. & Leblud J., Rapport statistique 2018- Accidents de la route2017, Bruxelles, Belgique: Institut Vias - Centre Connaissance de Sécurité Routière, www.vias.be (consulted on 12/11/2020).

More information is available in French and Dutch.