This page presents road deaths and road death rates for OECD nations and Australian states and territories. Rates of road deaths allow comparison between Australia’s road safety performance and that of other OECD nations by accounting for the differing levels of population, motorisation and distances travelled. The latest available international data is for 2022.
Fatality rate per 100,000 population
Australia’s rate of 4.54 deaths per 100,000 population was ranked 18th out of the 31 nations. The nations with the 3 lowest rates were Norway (2.14), Sweden (2.17) and Iceland (2.39).
Fatality rate per 100,000 population - 31 OECD countries, 2022
Fatality rate per 100,000 population - 31 OECD countries, 2022
| OECD member countries | Fatality rate per 100,000 population |
|---|---|
| Colombia | 15.54 |
| United States | 12.84 |
| Chile | 10.78 |
| New Zealand | 7.33 |
| Greece | 6.13 |
| Luxembourg | 5.58 |
| Hungary | 5.53 |
| Italy | 5.35 |
| Korea | 5.30 |
| Poland | 5.04 |
| Czech Republic | 5.01 |
| France | 4.98 |
| Belgium | 4.65 |
| Australia | 4.54 |
| Portugal | 4.46 |
| OECD median | 4.28 |
| Lithuania | 4.28 |
| Netherlands | 4.19 |
| Austria | 4.12 |
| Slovenia | 4.03 |
| Spain | 3.71 |
| Israel | 3.63 |
| Finland | 3.41 |
| Germany | 3.35 |
| Ireland | 3.06 |
| Switzerland | 2.76 |
| Denmark | 2.62 |
| United Kingdom | 2.61 |
| Japan | 2.57 |
| Iceland | 2.39 |
| Sweden | 2.17 |
| Norway | 2.14 |
Fatality rate per 100,000 population - Australian Remoteness Areas, 2021
Fatality rate per 100,000 population - Australian Remoteness Areas, 2021
| Australia's Remoteness Areas | Fatality rate per 100,000 population |
|---|---|
| Very Remote | 25.90 |
| Remote | 19.25 |
| Outer Regional | 12.77 |
| Inner Regional | 7.66 |
| Major Cities | 2.04 |
Between 2013 and 2022 Australia’s road death fatality rate declined by 11.4%. Over the same period the OECD median rate declined by 20.8%.
Fatality rate per 100,000 population – OECD quartiles and Australia, 2013-2022
| Nation | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | 3.7 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 2.14 |
| Sweden | 2.7 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.17 |
| Iceland | 4.7 | 1.2 | 4.9 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.39 |
| Japan | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.57 |
| United Kingdom | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 2.61 |
| Denmark | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 2.62 |
| Switzerland | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 2.76 |
| Ireland | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 3.06 |
| Germany | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.35 |
| Finland | 4.8 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.41 |
| Israel | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 3.63 |
| Spain | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 3.71 |
| Slovenia | 6.1 | 5.2 | 5.8 | 6.3 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 3.8 | 5.4 | 4.03 |
| Austria | 5.4 | 5.1 | 5.6 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.12 |
| Netherlands | 2.8 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 4.19 |
| Lithuania | 8.7 | 9.1 | 8.2 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 6.2 | 6.7 | 6.3 | 5.3 | 4.28 |
| Portugal | 6.1 | 6.1 | 5.7 | 5.4 | 5.8 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 4.46 |
| Australia | 5.1 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.54 |
| Belgium | 6.9 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 5.9 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.65 |
| France | 5.1 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.98 |
| Canada | 5.5 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.6 | - |
| Czech Republic | 6.2 | 6.5 | 7.0 | 5.8 | 5.5 | 6.2 | 5.8 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 5.01 |
| Poland | 8.8 | 8.4 | 7.7 | 8.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 6.6 | 5.9 | 5.04 |
| Korea | 10.1 | 9.4 | 9.1 | 8.4 | 8.1 | 7.3 | 6.5 | 6.0 | 5.6 | 5.30 |
| Italy | 5.7 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 5.35 |
| Hungary | 6.0 | 6.3 | 6.5 | 6.2 | 6.4 | 6.5 | 6.2 | 4.7 | 5.6 | 5.53 |
| Luxembourg | 8.4 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 5.6 | 4.2 | 6.0 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 5.58 |
| Greece | 8.0 | 7. | 7.3 | 7.6 | 6.8 | 6.5 | 6.4 | 5.4 | 5.8 | 6.13 |
| New Zealand | 5.7 | 6.5 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7.0 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 7.33 |
| Chile | 11.9 | 11.9 | 11.9 | 12.0 | 10.5 | 10.4 | 10.3 | 9.2 | 10.4 | 10.78 |
| United States | 10.4 | 10.3 | 11.1 | 11.7 | 11.5 | 11.3 | 11.1 | 11.8 | 12.9 | 12.84 |
| Costa Rica | 13.3 | 13.9 | - | - | 17.4 | 16.2 | 15.6 | 11.2 | 13.7 | - |
| Colombia | 12.7 | 13.3 | 13.8 | 14.8 | 13.7 | 13 | 13.3 | 10.8 | 14.2 | 15.54 |
Fatality rate per 10,000 registered vehicles
Australia’s rate of 0.57 deaths per 10,000 registered vehicles was ranked 13th out of the 24 nations with available data. The nations with the 3 lowest rates were Iceland (0.25), Norway (0.27), and Sweden (0.35).
Fatality rate per 10,000 registered vehicles – 24 OECD countries, 2022
Fatality rate per 10,000 registered vehicles – 24 OECD countries, 2022
| OECD member countries | Fatality rate per 10,000 registered vehicles |
|---|---|
| Colombia | 4.50 |
| Chile | 3.49 |
| New Zealand | 0.97 |
| Korea | 0.95 |
| Israel | 0.88 |
| Greece | 0.72 |
| Luxembourg | 0.68 |
| France | 0.67 |
| Czech Republic | 0.65 |
| Lithuania | 0.63 |
| Netherlands | 0.61 |
| Australia | 0.57 |
| OECD median | 0.57 |
| Italy | 0.56 |
| Slovenia | 0.52 |
| Austria | 0.51 |
| Spain | 0.47 |
| Germany | 0.47 |
| United Kingdom | 0.43 |
| Finland | 0.37 |
| Switzerland | 0.36 |
| Japan | 0.35 |
| Sweden | 0.35 |
| Norway | 0.27 |
| Iceland | 0.25 |
Fatality rate per 10,000 registered vehicles – Australian states and territories, 2022
Fatality rate per 10,000 registered vehicles – Australian states and territories, 2022
| Australia's states & territories | Fatality rate per 10,000 registered vehicles |
|---|---|
| NT | 2.86 |
| Tas | 0.98 |
| WA | 0.74 |
| Qld | 0.67 |
| ACT | 0.56 |
| SA | 0.47 |
| NSW | 0.46 |
| Vic | 0.46 |
Between 2013 and 2022 Australia’s fatality rate declined by 17.2%. Over the same period, the OECD median rate declined by 25.6%.
Fatality rate per 10,000 registered vehicles – OECD quartiles and Australia, 2013-2022
| Nation | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iceland | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Norway | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Sweden | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Japan | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Switzerland | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Finland | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| United Kingdom | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Germany | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
| Spain | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
| Austria | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Slovenia | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.5 |
| Italy | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.6 |
| Australia | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.57 |
| Netherlands | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| Lithuania | 1.1 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
| Czech Republic | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| France | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.7 |
| Luxembourg | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.7 |
| Ireland | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | - | - |
| Canada | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | - |
| Greece | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| Israel | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
| Poland | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.7 | - |
| Korea | 2.3 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| New Zealand | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.0 |
| United States | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | - |
| Chile | 5.0 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
| Colombia | 5.6 | 5.5 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 4.5 |
| Costa Rica | 3.6 | 3.6 | - | - | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 2.2 | 2.7 | - |
Fatality rate per 100 million Vehicle Kilometres Travelled (VKT)
Australia’s rate of 0.49 deaths per 100 million VKT was ranked 6th out of 11 nations with available data. The nations with the 3 lowest rates were Norway (0.26), Sweden (0.28) and Finland (0.40).
Fatality rate per 100 million Vehicle Kilometres Travelled (VKT) - OECD Member countries, 2022
Fatality rate per 100 million Vehicle Kilometres Travelled (VKT) - OECD Member countries, 2022
| OECD member countries | Fatality rate per 100 million VKT |
|---|---|
| Hungary | 1.10 |
| Lithuania | 0.92 |
| Czech Republic | 0.90 |
| Israel | 0.53 |
| France | 0.52 |
| Australia | 0.49 |
| OECD median | 0.49 |
| Slovenia | 0.41 |
| Germany | 0.40 |
| Finland | 0.40 |
| Sweden | 0.28 |
| Norway | 0.26 |
Fatality rate per 100 million Vehicle Kilometres Travelled (VKT) - Australia's states and territories, 2022
Fatality rate per 100 million Vehicle Kilometres Travelled (VKT) - Australia's states and territories, 2022
| Australia's states & territories | Fatality rate per 100 million VKT |
|---|---|
| NT | 2.17 |
| Tas | 0.98 |
| WA | 0.61 |
| Qld | 0.54 |
| ACT | 0.47 |
| SA | 0.44 |
| NSW | 0.41 |
| Vic | 0.39 |
Between 2013 and 2022 Australia’s fatality rate declined by 0.6%. Over the same period, the OECD median rate declined by 8.1%.
Fatality rate per 100 million Vehicle Kilometres Travelled (VKT) – OECD quartiles and Australia, 2013-2022
| Nation | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.26 |
| Sweden | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.28 |
| Finland | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.40 |
| Germany | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.40 |
| Slovenia | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.41 |
| Australia | 0.49 | 0.47 | 0.48 | 0.51 | 0.48 | 0.44 | 0.46 | 0.45 | 0.46 | 0.49 |
| France | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.52 |
| Israel | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.53 |
| Czech Republic | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.90 |
| Lithuania | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.92 |
| Hungary | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.10 |
The 3 rates presented — population, vehicles-registered and VKT are affected by population demographics and motorisation levels within each country. They are however still highly correlated. Earlier editions(Opens in a new tab/window) of this report have included analyses of this.
About the data
This data comes from the International Traffic Safety and Analysis Group (IRTAD). In the past this publication has been released with an 18-month lag from the reference period. The previous edition, released in August 2022, referenced 2020 data.
Limitations
IRTAD data is largely up to date to 2022, and consequently this edition references 2022. There was no 2021 publication.
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