In this article, we will take a look at the 17 countries with the highest number of road traffic deaths. If you want to skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to 5 Countries with the Highest Number of Road Traffic Deaths.

Are Self Driving Vehicles Really That Safe?

According to a report by the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association, autonomous vehicles have driven more than 44 million miles on public roads in the United States. By law, the AV industry must report any accidents to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The industry has been reporting accidents to the administration body for two years, and so far only one serious injury has been reported. Compared to these statistics, almost 43,000 human lives were lost in 2022, due to reckless driving by human drivers.

According to a report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the US reported 12.9 deaths per 100,000 people, and 1.37 traffic deaths per 100 million miles traveled. Rhode Island reported 5.7 and Mississippi reported 26.2 traffic deaths per 100,000 people. On the other hand, Massachusetts reported 0.71 and South Carolina reported 2.08 traffic deaths per 100 million miles traveled. 49% of the deaths in Rhode Island were of car owners, and 35% of deaths in Hawaii were of motorcyclists. You can also take a look at the countries with the most dangerous roads in the world.

China Making Strides to Improve Smart Transportation

On January 17, 2023, CGTN reported China’s position on smart roads. China is home to a 157-kilometer highway expanding across Chengdu to Yibin, which is categorized as China’s first “total factor” smart highway. The government has placed a smart pillar every 800 meters that provides road information to cars and drivers using radars and cameras.

On July 19, 2023, CGTN reported that China exported the world’s first hydrogen-powered smart tram to Malaysia. The tram was produced in Zhuzhou by the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Research Institute Co. The tram enjoys a long driving range, supports energy saving, and has a shorter refueling time.

On October 2, 2023, Reuters reported on China’s commitment to push innovation in the self-driving industry by 2025. The country formed the Innovation Consortia to enable firms to learn from each other and celebrate technological advancements. According to the report, by the first half of 2023, 42% of passenger vehicles in China had already achieved level 2 of automated driving. The category supports self-driving functions, however, the driver must be ready to take over in case of emergency. The country is aiming to achieve level 3 of automation.

Top Autonomous Vehicle Companies

Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Waymo, General Motors Company’s (NYSE:GM) subsidiary Cruise, and Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) are among the leading autonomous vehicle producers in the world. Let’s discuss recent updates and offerings from these companies.  You can also take a look at best autonomous driving stocks to buy now.

Waymo LLC, formerly known as Google Self-Driving Car Project, is owned by Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG). The company is an autonomous driving technology company and is also home to Waymo One, the world’s first autonomous ride-hailing service. It is functional in several cities across the United States. The cars are fully powered by renewable energy. On March 13, the company announced that it is set to launch Waymo One across two more cities in 2024. Waymo is currently testing the functionality of autonomous driving across 43 square miles of the city. During the testing phase, the company provides rides to its employees. As for Los Angeles, Waymo will first offer its services across 63 square miles of the city and will scale operations as time passes.

General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) is a leading automotive company based in the United States. Cruise, a product of General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), is a big name in the autonomous vehicles market. According to a media report by Reuters, published on February 3, driverless vehicles in California drove 3.3 million miles in 2023. Of them, Waymo and Cruise accounted for 36% and 63% of the total miles driven. Cruise has recently been under the water for an accident. On November 8, 2023, Reuters reported that Cruise recalled 950 driverless vehicles from across the United States after one of its autonomous cars dragged a pedestrian in a crash. The cars were recalled because the company suspected that the autonomous driving software would respond differently to the crash resulting in more crashes. The company lost over $700 million in the third quarter, ultimately slashing its value by half. The company is now aiming to get back on the roads of the United States soon by trying to win back the trust of users. On March 25, Cruise published a statement regarding the incident that happened back in October 2023. The company announced that since the incident it has been establishing systems to improve safety. With improved efforts, the company aims to rebuild trust among stakeholders and customers.

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) is a leading technology company based in China. 2023 has been huge for the company in the domain of autonomous vehicles. On March 17, 2023, the company received a permit to provide complete driverless ride-hailing services in Beijing, China. Previously, the company was not allowed to operate without human supervision. Later that year, Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) became the first company in China to launch driverless airport rides in Wuhan. These autonomous rides, by Apollo Go, are provided to and from the airport. The ride-hailing service, Apollo Go, connects urban roads and highways with its new airport service.

Now that we have discussed the self-driving vehicle industry, let’s take a look at the 17 countries with the highest number of road traffic deaths. You can also read our piece on the best autonomous trucking vehicle stocks to buy now.

Our Methodology

To come up with the 17 countries with the highest number of road traffic deaths, we sourced the traffic deaths per 100,000 people in 2019 from the World Health Organization. We then sourced the country-wise population for 2019 from The World Bank. We then tabulated the total traffic deaths per 100,000 people in 2019 and the population data to calculate the total traffic deaths in a country. Our list of the 17 countries with the highest number of road traffic deaths is in ascending order of the total traffic deaths in 2019. It is to be noted that our original calculations also accounted for territories and small islands. We adjusted the population year based on the year for which the traffic deaths data was available.

17 Countries with the Highest Number of Road Traffic Deaths

17. Kenya

Estimated Total Road Traffic Deaths (2019): 14,419

Kenya ranks 17th on our list of the countries with the highest number of road traffic deaths in the world. The country reported 28.3 road accident deaths per 100,000 people in 2019.

16. Mexico

Estimated Total Road Traffic Deaths (2019): 16,011

Mexico, officially referred to as the United Mexican States, is one of the countries with the highest number of road traffic deaths. It reported 12.8 road death accidents per 100,000 people in 2019.

15. Russian Federation

Estimated Total Road Traffic Deaths (2019): 17,328

Russian Federation is one of the countries with the highest number of road traffic deaths. The Russian Federation reported 12 traffic deaths per 100,000 people in 2019.

14. Iran

Estimated Total Road Traffic Deaths (2019): 18,611

Iran ranks 14th on our list of countries with the highest road traffic deaths in the world. It reported 21.5 road death accidents per 100,000 people in 2019.

13. United Republic of Tanzania

Estimated Total Road Traffic Deaths (2019): 18,620

With 31.1 road accident deaths per 100,000 people in 2019, the United Republic of Tanzania is one of the countries with the highest road traffic deaths in the world.

12. Thailand

Estimated Total Road Traffic Deaths (2019): 22,961

Thailand, officially referred to as the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Asia. It is also a popular tourist destination. It reported 32.2 road accident deaths per 100,000 people in 2019.

11. Bangladesh

Estimated Total Road Traffic Deaths (2019): 25,323

Bangladesh ranks 11th on our list of countries with the highest traffic deaths in the world. It reported 15.3 road death accidents per 100,000 people in 2019.

10. Pakistan

Estimated Total Road Traffic Deaths (2019): 29,028

Pakistan is a country in Asia. In 2019, Pakistan reported 13 road accident deaths per 100,000 people. The maximum speed limit of the motorway is 120 km/h.

9. Vietnam

Estimated Total Road Traffic Deaths (2019): 29,308

With 30.6 road accident deaths per 100,000 people in 2019, Vietnam ranks as one of the countries with the highest road traffic deaths in the world.

8. Indonesia

Estimated Total Road Traffic Deaths (2019): 30,463

Indonesia ranks eighth on our list of the countries with the highest number of road traffic deaths. Indonesia has a speed limit of 80 to 100 kilometers per hour on expressways and highways, respectively.

7. Democratic Republic of the Congo

Estimated Total Road Traffic Deaths (2019): 31,378

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the countries with a high road traffic death rate. It reported 34.9 road accident deaths per 100,000 people in 2019, contributing to its ranking on our list.

6. Ethiopia

Estimated Total Road Traffic Deaths (2019): 32,182

With 28.2 road accident deaths per 100,000 people, Ethiopia ranks sixth on our list of the countries with the highest road traffic deaths.

Click to continue reading and see 5 Countries with the Highest Number of Road Traffic Deaths.

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Disclosure: None. 17 Countries with the Highest Number of Road Traffic Deaths is originally published on Insider Monkey.