The safest countries to drive in Europe
Your chance of dying on the road depends a lot on where you drive. This guide looks at how road safety differs across Europe and why some countries are far safer than others.
The safest and the most dangerous
Measured as road deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, the safest countries in Europe are clustered in the north and west, with the Nordic countries consistently at the top. The gap between the safest and the most dangerous countries is several times over.
Our road safety ranking lists every country from safest to most dangerous, updated from Eurostat data.
What makes roads safer
Lower road death rates are linked to better infrastructure, stricter enforcement of speed and drink-driving limits, newer and safer cars, and high seatbelt use. Countries that invest steadily in all four tend to see deaths fall over time.
See the data
Frequently asked questions
- Which country has the safest roads in Europe?
- The Nordic countries, led by Norway and Sweden, have the lowest road death rates per capita. See the live ranking for the exact figures.
- How is road safety measured?
- The most comparable measure is road traffic deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, which adjusts for population size.