Head-to-Head · 2026
Nigeria vs South Africa: Road Safety
Nigeria wins — its roads are 1.1x safer per capita (21.6 vs 24.5 deaths per 100,000, WHO-estimated). The full picture below: absolute tolls, two-decade trends and what to dial in an emergency.
| Nigeria | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths per 100,000 (WHO est.) | 21.6 | 24.5 |
| Est. deaths per year | 48,341 | 14,798 |
| Est. 2026 so far | 37,655 | 11,526 |
| Population | 223,800,000 | 60,400,000 |
| Rate change since 2000 | -29.2% | -44.3% |
| Emergency number | 112 | 10111 (police) / 10177 (ambulance) |
Two Decades
Death Rates Over Time
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Accidents in Nigeria · Accidents in South Africa — real-time reports, archives and full safety profiles.
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Questions
FAQ
Is Nigeria or South Africa safer for driving?
Nigeria — its WHO-estimated death rate of 21.6 per 100,000 people is 1.1x lower than South Africa's 24.5. Absolute tolls differ with population: Nigeria loses an estimated 48,341 people per year, South Africa 14,798.
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.