Bulgaria Slashes Road Deaths Nearly 30% From Pre-2020 Levels

Jerusalem, 24 March, 2026 (TPS-IL) -- Brussels (BTA) – Bulgaria, along with Belgium, Denmark, Poland and Romania are currently on track to meet the 50% reduction target in road deaths by 2030, the European Commission said on Tuesday. Despite this progress, Romania continued to have one of the highest fatality rates in the EU alongside Bulgaria and Croatia in 2025.

Compared with 2024, Bulgaria saw a 5% decrease in road deaths in 2025, and a decrease of 29% compared with the period between 2017 and 2019. According to preliminary figures on road fatalities for 2025 released by the European Commission, around 19,400 deaths were reported, down by 3% from 2024, meaning that 580 fewer people died on European roads. Given the increase in vehicles on EU roads and kilometres driven, this is a significant achievement.

Between 2024 and 2025, there were remarkable decreases in Estonia (-38%) and Greece (-22%). Sweden and Denmark had the safest roads in 2025 as in previous years, with low fatality rates of about 20 per million inhabitants.

Around 100,000 people across the EU suffer serious injuries in road crashes each year. Rural roads continue to be the most dangerous, with 53% of road traffic fatalities occurring there, compared with 38% in urban areas and 8% on motorways. Within urban areas, vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists and users of powered two-wheelers and personal mobility devices) represent 70% of total road deaths.

Overall, men (77%) vastly outnumber women (23%) in road deaths, according to statistics. Car drivers and passengers accounted for 44% of all fatalities, whereas users of powered two-wheelers (motorbikes and mopeds) accounted for 21%, pedestrians 18%, and cyclists 9%.

In 2018, the EU set itself a 50% reduction target for road deaths and serious injuries by 2030, while aiming to reach zero road deaths by 2050.