Portugal registered a reduction of 8% in the number of road fatalities in 2023 compared to 2019, however, compared to the numbers of 2022, there was an increase of 3%, with 61 road fatalities per million inhabitants, according to data released today by the European Commission.
In the average of the European Union (EU), on the other hand, there were 46 road deaths per million inhabitants last year, representing a decrease of 1% in road fatalities compared to 2022 and 10% compared to 2019, the reference year for the goal of reducing deaths by 50% by 2030.
Regarding 2019, not all EU Member States show declining trends, with Ireland recording an increase of 31%, Latvia 27%, the Netherlands 7%, Slovakia 4%, and Sweden 2%.
Conversely, the largest decreases in the last four years were recorded in Poland (-35%), Belgium and Hungary (-22% each), Denmark (-20%), and the Czech Republic (-19%).
Bulgaria with 82 deaths per million inhabitants, Romania with and Lithuania with 76 had the highest road mortality rates in 2023. Meanwhile, Sweden with 22, Malta with 26, and Denmark with 27 recorded the lowest rates among EU Member States.
