In 2023, a total of 20,380 individuals lost their lives in road accidents across the European Union (EU), marking a 1.3% decrease from the previous year, according to Eurostat. Among these fatalities, 642 occurred in Portugal.
Eurostat’s latest data reveals that the number of road-related deaths in the EU fell from 20,652 in 2022 to 20,380 in 2023. This decline follows a significant drop in 2020, when fatalities plummeted to 18,830 due to mobility restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected travel and transportation.
Despite an increase in road deaths in 2021 and 2022, the figures have not returned to pre-pandemic levels, as noted by the EU’s statistical office. Specifically in Portugal, the number of road fatalities rose from 618 in 2022 to 642 in 2023, translating to an average of 61 deaths per million residents—above the EU average of 46.
Within the EU, Sweden reported the lowest rate of road deaths in 2023, with just 22 fatalities per million inhabitants, followed by Denmark at 27 and Malta at 30. Conversely, Bulgaria and Romania exhibited the highest rates, with both countries recording 81 deaths per million, trailed by Latvia at 75.
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