13 Countries with the Highest Road Accidents and Fatalities in the World

If you ever wanted to learn about the countries with the highest road accidents and fatalities in the world, then we have the answer for you.

Since the invention of motor vehicles, road accidents have been a serious concern. Thankfully, most road accidents do not result in fatalities, but nobody wants to be involved in such an unfortunate event. In our article, we will take a look at countries that have the deadliest roads. If you are wondering what country has the most car accidents, then we have to say it is Libya. In our research we found the highest number of fatalities occurred in Libya, (according to the latest data) which is roughly 73.4 people per 100,000, per year. Unfortunately, we were only able to obtain data up to 2013 from reliable sources, thus we are unable to provide you with an answer to questions like “what country has the most car accidents 2016?” or to give precise information on road accident statistics 2015 even. One thing is for sure, that the more a country spends on infrastructure, the less likely road accidents are in that particular country. If you are interested, you should check out 10 Countries That Spend the Most on Infrastructure. 

Speaking of infrastructures, did you know which countries already have the best road infrastructures in the world? Well, you may be able to guess a few names but I am sure you won’t be able to guess all the names. Please consider checking out 11 Countries with the Best Road Infrastructure in the World as well. Road accidents happen wherever we go, but why exactly do they happen? Most often than not, road accidents happen due to human error, which is pretty much inevitable. One tiny miscalculation or just a split second of absentmindedness can cause a catastrophe. Poorly maintained roads can also have a significant impact on road accidents. The fact that in the top 10 countries with the highest road accidents enforcing safety laws are not a priority, complicates matters even further. You should check out the 11 Primitive Countries With The Worst Infrastructure In The World, which will give you an idea about how ignorant governments can be regarding the infrastructure of a country. Countries like Malawi, Liberia, Central African Republic are some of the worst countries for taking road trips. These countries are extremely underdeveloped and their economies are basically in shambles. But unfortunately, a few developing countries with considerably strong economies also made it into our list, like Thailand and Iran.

Let’s talk about road traffic accident statistics. We used reports published by renowned and reliable sources like the WHO (World Health Organization) and the OCED (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) for our research purposes. As mentioned earlier, we were only able to find data up to 2013, and thus we had to base our research on that data. Things may have changed since a major survey was last undertaken by a reliable organization, and we hope it changed for the better. To bring things into perspective, we have to take a look at car deaths per year worldwide. In this case, let’s just take a look at the estimated figures published by WHO for the year 2013, which is 1,250,000.

The topic of our today’s article is pretty morbid, but we have to talk about these things. When enough people start to talk, certain governments will not be able to turn a blind eye towards these incidents, and will be forced to start fixing things.

Until then, let’s get the list of the countries with the highest road accidents and fatalities in the world started.

13. Burkina Faso

Road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants: 30.0

We begin our list with the West African country, Burkina Faso. One thing to note here is that the country is also landlocked, meaning that the country does not have any seaports and is surrounded by land. This means traveling by road is the primary means of getting from point A to point B in the country. Given the situation of the country’s geography, the country making it into the list is really alarming.

12. Togo

Road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants: 31.1

Togo has a slightly worse standing than Burkina Faso. It’s another West African country, and a country well known for its religious practice of Voodoo. However, the country made its way onto the list due to the poor road conditions and high mortality rate of its citizens by road accidents.

11. São Tomé and Príncipe

Road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants: 31.1

There is a tie in between São Tomé and Príncipe and our previous entrant when it comes to mortality rate per hundred thousand inhabitants by road accidents. However, there are more motor vehicles in São Tomé and Príncipe and that makes the country even more dangerous. If you find yourself there, please be very careful when driving. After all, it is much better to be safe than sorry.

10. Mozambique

Road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants: 31.6

Yet another African country finds itself in our rather notorious list of countries with the highest road accidents and fatalities in the world, however, Mozambique is from the Southern part of the continent of Africa. With a mortality rate of 31.6 per hundred thousand inhabitants, and many more injuries it is quite safe to say that in Mozambique drivers are really having a hard time. Unfortunately, as we move up on the list, things will only get worse from here.

9. Iran

Road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants: 32.1

Iran is infamous for a lot of reasons, and ever since the “Islamic Revolution” there has been bad blood between the western world and Iran. However, here is yet another issue that is not that good about Iran. The fatality rate per hundred thousand inhabitants is really very high. Iran has been imposed with a lot of sanctions, and thus the country’s infrastructure has suffered severely. Combine that with the only ability of their automobile industry to produce sub-par vehicles, and you have a big problem.

8. Rwanda

Road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants: 32.1

This East African country is as dangerous as Iran when it comes to driving from one place to another. On top of that, this country is also a landlocked country and that does make matters a bit more complicated. The country is not very developed and only a small percentage of people actually travel by motor vehicle, still, about four thousand people died in 2013 in Rwanda from road accidents alone.

7. The Central African Republic

Road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants: 32.4

We are almost half way through our list of the countries with the highest road accidents and fatalities in the world, and at the middle, we have the Central African Republic with a road fatality rate per hundred thousand inhabitants of about 32.4. In the grand scheme of things it’s not that high, but definitely high enough to raise concerns.

6. Tanzania

Road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants: 32.9

At number 6 on our list of countries with the highest road accidents and fatalities in the world, we have Tanzania an East African country, home to the plains of the Serengeti National Park. If you are into Safaris, then you are probably aware of this country, but one thing those flashy tourism flyers does not tell you is that the country’s road conditions are some of the worst in the world. This does not mean you should not visit the country, but be careful when you are driving around in populated areas in Tanzania.

5. The Democratic Republic of the Congo

Road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants: 33.2

The overwhelming majority of countries that made it into the list are from Africa, and the Congo is no exception. It is a central African country, ravaged by wars and political turmoil. Africa is the least developed continent, and the citizens of Africa are paying very dearly for this. Given the small number of vehicles in comparison, the death toll from road accidents is quite high.

4. Liberia

Road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants: 33.7

Liberia has a fatality rate of 33.7 per hundred thousand inhabitants and that number puts it at a very unfavorable number 4 position in the list of countries with the highest road accidents and fatalities in the world. If you haven’t heard of Liberia before and guessing that this has to be another African country, then you are right. Liberia is a West African country, and as you can see the road infrastructure is way less than ideal there.

3. Malawi

Road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants: 35.0

Malawi has the highest fatality rate thus far in the list, which is quite a high number but fortunately, Malawi only ranks at number 3 in the list. This of course means, there are 2 more countries with much higher fatality rates per hundred thousand inhabitants. And yes, if you are wondering Malawi is a landlocked country in the Southeastern part of the African continent.

2. Thailand

Road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants: 36.2

Thailand is the second Asian country to make into this list of countries with the highest road accidents and fatalities in the world, but that is not the only distinction of Thailand from most of the other countries in the list. Thailand, although not an economic powerhouse by any means does have a fairly strong economy and is a developing country. To find such a country on the list is a little surprising, especially when you consider the fact that one of the major industries in Thailand is tourism.

1. Libya

Road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants: 73.4

At the very top of our list, we find yet another country from Africa. The most alarming fact of the matter is that the road fatality rate is more than double than that of our previous entrant which is just astonishing. However, one thing should be considered here that at the time of data collection which was in 2013, the country was suffering from a persistent civil war, which is ongoing to this very day.

This wraps it up for our list of 13 countries with the highest road accidents and fatalities in the world.