Head-to-Head · 2026
India vs China: Road Safety
India wins — its roads are 1.1x safer per capita (15.6 vs 17.4 deaths per 100,000, WHO-estimated). The full picture below: absolute tolls, two-decade trends and what to dial in an emergency.
| India | China | |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths per 100,000 (WHO est.) | 15.6 | 17.4 |
| Est. deaths per year | 222,862 | 247,950 |
| Est. 2026 so far | 173,567 | 193,106 |
| Population | 1,428,600,000 | 1,425,000,000 |
| Rate change since 2000 | -7% | -19.3% |
| Emergency number | 112 | 110 (police) / 120 (ambulance) |
Two Decades
Death Rates Over Time
Live
Track Both Live
Accidents in India · Accidents in China — real-time reports, archives and full safety profiles.
More Comparisons
Other Match-ups
United States vs United Kingdom India vs Pakistan Pakistan vs Bangladesh United States vs Canada Germany vs France Australia vs New Zealand
Questions
FAQ
Is India or China safer for driving?
India — its WHO-estimated death rate of 15.6 per 100,000 people is 1.1x lower than China's 17.4. Absolute tolls differ with population: India loses an estimated 222,862 people per year, China 247,950.
Why compare per 100,000 instead of total deaths?
Total deaths mostly measure population size. Deaths per 100,000 people measures actual risk to an individual road user, which is what matters when comparing two countries — and what the WHO uses for exactly this reason.