Most Dangerous Countries to Drive In

Adjusted for population, these are the deadliest countries in the world to be a road user, ranked by WHO-estimated road traffic deaths per 100,000 people. The global average is roughly 15 — the countries at the top of this table run at two to four times that. The pattern is consistent: rapid motorization, high motorcycle share, limited enforcement of speed and alcohol laws, and trauma-care systems that can't reach crash victims inside the golden hour.

#	Country	Rate /100k	Est. deaths / year	Est. 2026 so far
1	Dominican Republic	64.6	7,300	5,684
2	Zimbabwe	34.7	5,795	4,512
3	South Sudan	33.9	3,763	2,930
4	DR Congo	33.7	34,475	26,845
5	Central African Republic	33.6	1,915	1,491
6	Malawi	31	6,479	5,045
7	Mozambique	30.1	10,204	7,945
8	Sierra Leone	29.9	2,631	2,048
9	Cameroon	29.4	8,408	6,547
10	Tanzania	29.2	19,681	15,325
11	Togo	29.2	2,657	2,068
12	Uganda	29	14,094	10,974
13	Lesotho	28.9	665	517
14	Namibia	28.6	744	579
15	Chad	28.5	5,216	4,061
16	Burkina Faso	28.2	6,571	5,116
17	Guinea	28.2	4,004	3,117
18	Kenya	28.2	15,538	12,099
19	Benin	27.5	3,768	2,934
20	Guinea-Bissau	27.5	605	471
21	Venezuela	27.5	7,920	6,167
22	Congo	27.4	1,671	1,301
23	Niger	27.4	7,453	5,803
24	Gambia	27.1	732	570
25	Somalia	27.1	4,905	3,819
26	Eswatini	26.9	323	251
27	Liberia	26.9	1,453	1,131
28	Ethiopia	26.7	33,776	26,301
29	Angola	26.1	9,579	7,459
30	Sudan	25.7	12,362	9,626
31	Rwanda	25.6	3,610	2,811
32	Libya	25.4	1,753	1,365
33	Thailand	25.4	18,237	14,200
34	Eritrea	25.3	936	728
35	Burundi	24.9	3,287	2,559
36	Ghana	24.9	8,491	6,611
37	Mauritania	24.5	1,201	935
38	South Africa	24.5	14,798	11,523
39	Equatorial Guinea	24.1	410	319
40	Zambia	23.7	4,882	3,801
41	Madagascar	23.6	7,151	5,568
42	Comoros	23.5	200	155
43	Senegal	23.4	4,165	3,243
44	Mali	23.1	5,382	4,190
45	Ivory Coast	22.9	6,618	5,153
46	Gabon	22.9	550	428
47	Paraguay	22.7	1,566	1,219
48	Malaysia	22.5	7,718	6,009
49	Tunisia	22.3	2,788	2,170
50	Palau	22.2	4	3
51	El Salvador	22.1	1,414	1,101
52	Botswana	21.7	564	439
53	Djibouti	21.7	239	186
54	Iran	21.7	19,356	15,072
55	Nigeria	21.6	48,341	37,642
56	Sao Tome and Principe	21.6	50	38
57	Algeria	20.2	9,211	7,172
58	Morocco	19.9	7,522	5,857
59	Ecuador	19.5	3,530	2,748
60	Guyana	19.4	157	122
61	Yemen	19.4	6,674	5,196
62	Belize	19.3	79	61
63	Myanmar	19.3	10,538	8,205
64	North Korea	19.1	5,004	3,896
65	Haiti	18.5	2,165	1,685
66	Nicaragua	18.3	1,281	997
67	Lebanon	18.1	996	775
68	Cape Verde	17.9	107	83
69	Vietnam	17.7	17,505	13,630
70	China	17.4	247,950	193,076
71	Cambodia	17.1	2,890	2,250
72	Jamaica	17.1	479	372
73	Honduras	16.9	1,791	1,394
74	Tonga	16.8	18	14
75	Costa Rica	16.7	868	675
76	Laos	16.7	1,269	988
77	Guatemala	16.6	3,005	2,339
78	Mongolia	16.5	561	436
79	Syria	16.2	3,758	2,926
80	Bolivia	15.9	1,972	1,535
81	Nepal	15.9	4,913	3,825
82	Brazil	15.7	33,975	26,456
83	India	15.6	222,862	173,540
84	Nauru	15.4	2	1
85	Bangladesh	15.3	26,194	20,397
86	Georgia	15.3	566	440
87	Colombia	15.2	7,919	6,166
88	Afghanistan	15.1	6,372	4,961
89	Solomon Islands	14.7	106	82
90	Bosnia and Herzegovina	14.6	467	363
91	Pakistan	14.3	34,392	26,780
92	Panama	14.2	639	497
93	Papua New Guinea	14.2	1,463	1,139
94	Suriname	14.2	88	68
95	Argentina	14	6,524	5,080
96	Peru	13.9	4,782	3,723
97	Bahamas	13.8	57	44
98	Kyrgyzstan	13.8	925	720
99	Vanuatu	13.8	46	35
100	Mauritius	13.7	178	138
101	Jordan	13.5	1,526	1,188
102	Saudi Arabia	13.2	4,871	3,793
103	Mexico	13.1	16,834	13,108
104	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	13.1	14	10
105	Ukraine	13	4,771	3,715
106	Uruguay	12.9	439	341
107	Bhutan	12.8	101	78
108	United States	12.8	43,520	33,888
109	Timor-Leste	12.7	178	138
110	Iraq	12.6	5,733	4,464
111	Sri Lanka	12.5	2,738	2,132
112	Turkmenistan	12.5	813	633
113	Saint Lucia	12.4	22	17
114	Tajikistan	12.3	1,242	967
115	Grenada	12.1	15	11
116	Taiwan	12.1	2,892	2,251
117	Armenia	11.9	333	259
118	Kazakhstan	11.9	2,332	1,815
119	Albania	11.7	328	255
120	Trinidad and Tobago	11.6	174	135
121	Seychelles	11.4	11	8
122	Indonesia	11.3	31,358	24,418
123	Philippines	11.1	13,020	10,138
124	Russia	10.9	15,740	12,256
125	Saint Kitts and Nevis	10.8	5	3
126	Kuwait	10.7	460	358
127	Oman	10.7	492	383
128	Montenegro	10.6	66	51
129	Chile	10.5	2,058	1,602
130	Uzbekistan	10.5	3,696	2,878
131	Palestine	10.3	556	432
132	Dominica	10.2	7	5
133	Egypt	9.9	11,157	8,687
134	Moldova	9.7	243	189
135	Fiji	9.6	90	70
136	Kiribati	9.4	13	10
137	Bulgaria	8.9	570	443
138	Azerbaijan	8.7	887	690
139	Romania	8.6	1,643	1,279
140	Turkey	8.6	7,379	5,745
141	Cuba	8.5	952	741
142	Greece	8.2	853	664
143	Antigua and Barbuda	7.9	7	5
144	Samoa	7.9	17	13
145	Belarus	7.8	718	559
146	New Zealand	7.8	406	316
147	Croatia	7.7	300	233
148	Tuvalu	7.7	1	0
149	Bahrain	7.5	113	87
150	Latvia	7.4	141	109
151	Poland	7.4	2,723	2,120
152	Marshall Islands	7.3	3	2
153	Serbia	7.2	482	375
154	Hungary	6.9	662	515
155	Portugal	6.8	694	540
156	United Arab Emirates	6.6	627	488
157	Lithuania	6.5	182	141
158	North Macedonia	6.4	134	104
159	South Korea	5.9	3,050	2,375
160	Barbados	5.8	16	12
161	Slovakia	5.7	308	239
162	Czech Republic	5.6	605	471
163	Andorra	5.5	4	3
164	Canada	5.3	2,125	1,654
165	Qatar	5.3	143	111
166	Italy	5.2	3,063	2,385
167	Cyprus	5.1	66	51
168	France	5	3,410	2,655
169	Slovenia	4.9	103	80
170	Belgium	4.8	562	437
171	Luxembourg	4.7	31	24
172	Austria	4.6	419	326
173	Micronesia	4.6	5	3
174	Australia	4.5	1,197	932
175	Estonia	4.4	62	48
176	Malta	4.1	22	17
177	Finland	3.9	218	169
178	Israel	3.9	378	294
179	Netherlands	3.8	676	526
180	Germany	3.7	3,127	2,434
181	Spain	3.7	1,758	1,368
182	Brunei	3.6	16	12
183	Denmark	3.1	183	142
184	San Marino	3	1	0
185	Ireland	2.9	154	119
186	United Kingdom	2.9	1,963	1,528
187	Liechtenstein	2.7	1	0
188	Japan	2.6	3,237	2,520
189	Switzerland	2.6	229	178
190	Monaco	2.5	1	0
191	Sweden	2.2	233	181
192	Norway	2.1	116	90
193	Iceland	2	8	6
194	Singapore	1.8	106	82
195	Maldives	0.9	5	3

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Questions

FAQ

Which country is the most dangerous to drive in?

By death rate, the Dominican Republic consistently ranks worst in the world (driven overwhelmingly by motorcycle deaths), followed by Zimbabwe, South Sudan, DR Congo and the Central African Republic. By absolute numbers, India records the most total road deaths.

Why are developing countries more dangerous for drivers?

The gap is systems, not drivers: fewer divided highways and pedestrian crossings, high motorcycle share, weaker enforcement of speed/alcohol/helmet laws, older vehicle fleets without modern safety features, and slower emergency response. 92% of world road deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.

All figures are statistical estimates from WHO published rates — see the full methodology. Citing this table? Link back to this page as the source.