- Romania is the most dangerous European country to drive in, based on 2022 statistics.
- Serbia and Bulgaria are second and third, respectively.
- Norway ranks as the safest country to drive in.
The study, which was carried out by Vignetteswitzerland.com analysed the latest data from the European Transport Safety Council to see which countries had the highest road deaths per million inhabitants.
It found that Romania is statistically the most dangerous country to drive in in Europe. 2022 shows that the country had 85.81 deaths per million inhabitants, the highest of any country in the study. However, this is a 10.26% drop from 2012, which saw 95.62 deaths per million inhabitants.
Serbia comes second on the list, with the south-eastern European country coming in with 82.65 road deaths per million inhabitants. Compared to 2012 data, this is a drop of 13.01% from when the country had 95.01 road deaths per million inhabitants.
Coming in third place is the Balkan nation Bulgaria, which comes in with 77.64 road deaths per million inhabitants. It has the most minor change in road deaths out of the top ten, only seeing a drop of 6.02% since 2012, with 82.62 road deaths per million inhabitants.
Croatia takes fourth place on the list, with 71.20 road deaths per million inhabitants in the 2022 data. This is a 22.53% drop from 2012 when the country had 91.91 road deaths per million inhabitants.
Rounding out the top five is Portugal, which comes in with 62.30 road deaths per million inhabitants. This is an 8.53% drop from the 2012 data, which had 68.11 road deaths per million inhabitants.
The most dangerous European countries to drive in
Rank | Country | Road deaths per mln inhabitants (2012) | Road deaths per mln inhabitants (2022) | Percentage change 2012-2022 |
1 | Romania | 95.62 | 85.81 | -10.26% |
2 | Serbia | 95.01 | 82.65 | -13.01% |
3 | Bulgaria | 82.62 | 77.64 | -6.02% |
4 | Croatia | 91.91 | 71.20 | -22.53% |
5 | Portugal | 68.11 | 62.30 | -8.53% |
6 | Greece | 87.51 | 60.71 | -30.63% |
7 | Latvia | 86.69 | 60.24 | -30.51% |
8 | Luxembourg | 64.78 | 55.78 | -13.89% |
9 | Hungary | 60.76 | 55.22 | -9.12% |
10 | Italy | 61.71 | 53.70 | -12.97% |
The study also found that Norway is statistically the safest country to drive in in Europe. 2022 shows that the country only had 21.38 deaths per million inhabitants, the lowest of any European country. Compared to 2012 data, this is a 26.48% drop from across the decade, with 2012 having 29.08 deaths per million inhabitants.