International Road Safety Comparisons—Annual

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ISSN
1447-8218
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This report presents road deaths and road death rates for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations and Australian states and territories.  The rates allow for a comparison of Australia’s road safety performance with that of other OECD nations by accounting for the differing levels of population, motorisation and distances travelled. The latest available international data is for 2019.

Fatalities per 100,000 population is the measure specified in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Indicator 3.61) to monitor road crash trauma.

Latest year: 2020

At a glance

  • In terms of the fatality rate per 100,000 population in 2020: Australia’s rate of 4.26 was ranked 20th out of the 36 nations. The nations with the three lowest rates were Norway (1.73), Sweden (1.98) and Iceland (2.20). Between 2011 and 2020 Australia’s fatality rate declined by 25.4 per cent. Over the same period, the OECD median rate declined by 34.6 per cent.
  • In terms of the fatality rate per 10,000 registered vehicles in 2020: Australia’s rate of 0.55 was ranked 18th out of the 30 nations with available data. The nations with the three lowest rates were Norway (0.23), Iceland (0.23) and Sweden (0.32). Between 2011 and 2020 Australia’s fatality rate declined by 29.2 per cent. Over the same period, the OECD median rate declined by 33.7 per cent.
  • In terms of the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) in 2020: Australia’s rate of 0.44 was ranked 9th out of 15 nations with available data. The nations with the three lowest rates were Iceland (0.21), Norway (0.21) and Sweden (0.26). Between 2011 and 2020 Australia’s fatality rate declined by 19.1 per cent. Over the same period, the OECD median rate declined by 25.3 per cent.

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