Head-to-Head · 2026
Japan vs South Korea: Road Safety
Japan wins — its roads are 2.3x safer per capita (2.6 vs 5.9 deaths per 100,000, WHO-estimated). The full picture below: absolute tolls, two-decade trends and what to dial in an emergency.
| Japan | South Korea | |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths per 100,000 (WHO est.) | 2.6 | 5.9 |
| Est. deaths per year | 3,237 | 3,050 |
| Est. 2026 so far | 2,521 | 2,375 |
| Population | 124,500,000 | 51,700,000 |
| Rate change since 2000 | -68.8% | -59% |
| Emergency number | 110 (police) / 119 (ambulance) | 112 (police) / 119 (ambulance) |
Two Decades
Death Rates Over Time
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Accidents in Japan · Accidents in South Korea — real-time reports, archives and full safety profiles.
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Questions
FAQ
Is Japan or South Korea safer for driving?
Japan — its WHO-estimated death rate of 2.6 per 100,000 people is 2.3x lower than South Korea's 5.9. Absolute tolls differ with population: Japan loses an estimated 3,237 people per year, South Korea 3,050.
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.