Worlds Most Dangerous Roads

World’s Most Dangerous and Safest Roads

The World Health Organisation classes road related deaths as the leading cause of death in low-income and middle-income countries,causing between 20 and 50 million injuries every year. Its data also reveals that road deaths are the leading cause of death among the 15-29 year-olds, and that the people killed on roads are pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.

It’s not surprising therefore that developing nations in Africa dominate the Top 10 nations by road mortality rate per 100,000 population. Libya ranks as the most dangerous country, though I do wonder how many of those deaths were related more to the country’s civil war than general road accidents. Having driven in Thailand, my guess is that a high proportion of deaths are relating to motorcycles, given the prevalence of that mode of transport. The country also has a relatively new network of multi-lane roads which allow high speeds to be attained. The high rankings of Rwanda in particular, and also Togo and Mozambique are a surprise to me, having driven in all those countries. I found Rwanda one of the safest African destinations to drive in, having experienced the road conditions in around 30 African nations. I would also rank Togo and Mozambique lower in my list of challenging driving locations.

In terms of the safest countries, it’s no surprise to find 8 European nations in the top 10, with just Japan and Singapore appearing from the rest of the world. Maybe more surprising is Malta’s position as the safest nation to drive in. For anyone who has driven there, compared to say Scandinavian nations may be surprised that it ranks as safer in terms of road deaths.

World’s most dangerous roads-

Source: World Road Safety Report, World Health Organization (WHO), International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA) 2017

World’s Safest Roads-

Full Data -Road Deaths per 100k population