One in four global road deaths occur in Africa, report reveals
The report notes that only a section of countries have reported having national road safety lead agencies (RSLAs), with only 29 of them receiving allocated budget support.
Despite hosting less than four per cent of the world's vehicles, Africa accounts for 24 per cent of global road fatalities, amounting to 19.6 per 100,000 population, with wide variations among countries.
This is according to the Africa Status Report on Road Safety 2025, which also shows that the highest proportion of road traffic fatalities occurs among males (75 per cent), individuals ages 18 to 59 years (66 per cent), and vulnerable road users (53 per cent), with pedestrians accounting for 31 per cent of all deaths.
The burden disproportionately affects males, individuals ages 18 to 59 years, and vulnerable road users, with pedestrians accounting for 31 per cent of all deaths, motorised two and three-wheelers 17.5 per cent, and cyclists 4.4 per cent, together accounting for more than half of the continent's fatalities.
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"Since 2000, fatalities have generally risen, although there was a slight decrease during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2010, there has been a gradual decline in the number of fatalities in 22 countries, specifically, six countries each in central and eastern Africa, four in northern Africa, and three countries each in southern and western Africa.
Of these, three countries have reduced fatalities by 40–49 per cent, two countries by 30–39 per cent, five countries by 20–29 per cent, 10 countries by 10–19 per cent, and two countries by less than 10 per cent," the report indicates.
The document cites behavioural risk factors such as speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, distracted driving, and nonuse of helmets, seat belts, and child restraints as significantly contributing to these road traffic injuries and fatalities.
Further, it notes that post-crash response and care remain a crucial yet underdeveloped area in Africa's road safety landscape.
"Systems for emergency prehospital care, such as emergency care numbers and coordinating agencies, are available in most countries. Countries have also taken steps to ensure the availability of emergency care specialists, with training programs for trauma surgeons, emergency care physicians, and trauma nurses. Half of the countries have trauma registries, but less than a third have national-level data".
It recommends that Efforts to improve post-crash response and care should prioritise expanding access to prehospital and emergency care, ensuring the quality of emergency care systems, and strengthening data collection systems for effective monitoring and planning.
Additionally, strengthening post-crash legislation and implementing financial protection mechanisms will provide the necessary guarantees of access to quality care and support for victims and their families.
"To improve safety, countries should refine their laws to align with international standards, strengthen enforcement mechanisms, and establish reliable data collection systems to monitor compliance and evaluate the impact of interventions."
For road safety in Africa, countries must address the multiple factors contributing to the continent's significant road traffic burden, guided by the Safe System approach and the five key pillars of road safety: road safety management, safer roads and mobility, vehicle safety, safe road user behaviour, and post-crash response.
"Addressing Africa's road safety challenges calls for a comprehensive strengthening of institutional management frameworks, to ensure the sustainable funding of effective and efficient interventions, guided by enhanced data collection systems that accurately assess and monitor the burden of road traffic injuries."
The report notes that only a section of countries have reported having national road safety lead agencies (RSLAs), with only 29 of them receiving allocated budget support.
It says that while good progress has been made through the creation of RSLAs and the development of national strategies, further enhancements in institutional management are essential to expand these functions and boost their effectiveness.
"Gaps in data systems, including single-source data reliance, and incomplete reporting on the distribution of road traffic fatalities among the different population groups, serious injuries, and road safety key performance indicators continue to undermine efforts to monitor road safety effectively and implement evidence-based interventions."
The report provides an overall picture of the current state of road safety in Africa, progress made in addressing road safety challenges, and promising initiatives being carried out across the continent to inspire and motivate key stakeholders to collaborate in continued efforts to implement the United Nations (UN) Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030 at the country level and scale up interventions to ensure safe mobility.
It relied on data from 42 African countries: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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