Despite the comfort and convenience of traveling by car, it’s one of the more dangerous commonplace activities. According to the Association for Safe International Road Travel, nearly 1.3 million people die in car crashes globally every year, making it the ninth-leading cause of death.
The vast majority (90 percent) of fatal car accidents occur in low- to middle-income countries, as illustrated by the visualization below. But getting to the root of the problem isn’t as simple as imposing lower speed limits, for example. The data shows no correlation between max speed limit and fatality rate. It’s possible that the increased fatalities in these countries are due to poor infrastructure and more dangerous cars. In fact, the deadliest country for drivers actually has one of the lowest urban speed limits.
One contributing factor to high fatality driving rates may be seat belt use, or lack thereof, in lower income countries. Some countries don’t require back-seat passengers to wear seat belts. And, even in many countries that do, compliance and regulation may fall short. Additionally, drunk driving poses a huge threat. Studies suggest that lowering legal BAC limits greatly reduces highway fatalities. Lowering it from .08 percent to .05 percent can decrease car accident deaths anywhere from eight to 18 percent.
The experts at HealthGrove used data from the World Health Organization to examine car accident fatality rates around the world. Starting with countries that had more than 500 car accident deaths in 2010 (most recently available data), we looked at car accident fatality rate per 100,000 people, legal BAC limits, and the maximum urban and rural speed limits. If data was unavailable for any of these categories, it is not listed. The 42 most dangerous countries for car users are listed.
#42. Laos
Car Accident Death Rate: 20.4 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 1,266
Max Urban Speed Limit: 25mph (40km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)
#41. China
Car Accident Death Rate: 20.5 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 275,983
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 44mph (70km/h)
#40. Ivory Coast
Car Accident Death Rate: 20.9 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 4,121
Max Urban Speed Limit: 37mph (60km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 68mph (110km/h)
#39. Kenya
Car Accident Death Rate: 20.9 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 8,484
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 62mph (100km/h)
#38. Democratic Republic of the Congo
Car Accident Death Rate: 20.9 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 13,764
Max Urban Speed Limit: 37mph (60km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 56mph (90km/h)
#37. Burundi
Car Accident Death Rate: 21.3 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 1,788
#36. Paraguay
Car Accident Death Rate: 21.4 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 1,383
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 68mph (110km/h)
#35. Uruguay
Car Accident Death Rate: 21.5 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 723
Max Urban Speed Limit: 28mph (45km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 56mph (90km/h)
#34. El Salvador
Car Accident Death Rate: 21.9 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 1,358
#33. Kazakhstan
Car Accident Death Rate: 21.9 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 3,514
Max Urban Speed Limit: 37mph (60km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 68mph (110km/h)
#32. Ghana
Car Accident Death Rate: 22.2 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 5,407
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)
#31. Lebanon
Car Accident Death Rate: 22.3 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 942
Max Urban Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
#30. Brazil
Car Accident Death Rate: 22.5 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 43,869
#29. Sierra Leone
Car Accident Death Rate: 22.6 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 1,323
Max Urban Speed Limit: 25mph (40km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
#28. United Republic Of Tanzania
Car Accident Death Rate: 22.7 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 10,162
#27. Jordan
Car Accident Death Rate: 22.9 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 1,414
Max Urban Speed Limit: 56mph (90km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 44mph (70km/h)
#26. Syrian Arab Republic
Car Accident Death Rate: 22.9 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 4,669
Max Urban Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 37mph (60km/h)
#25. Mali
Car Accident Death Rate: 23.1 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 3,544
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
#24. Angola
Car Accident Death Rate: 23.1 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 4,407
Max Urban Speed Limit: 37mph (60km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)
#23. Niger
Car Accident Death Rate: 23.7 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 3,673
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 37mph (60km/h)
#22. Yemen
Car Accident Death Rate: 23.7 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 5,698
#21. Zambia
Car Accident Death Rate: 23.8 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 3,117
Max Urban Speed Limit: 40mph (65km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)
#20. Benin
Car Accident Death Rate: 23.9 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 2,119
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
#19. Vietnam
Car Accident Death Rate: 24.7 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 21,651
#18. Saudi Arabia
Car Accident Death Rate: 24.8 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 6,800
#17. Namibia
Car Accident Death Rate: 25 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 571
Max Urban Speed Limit: 37mph (60km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 62mph (100km/h)
#16. Malaysia
Car Accident Death Rate: 25 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 7,085
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 56mph (90km/h)
#15. Sudan
Car Accident Death Rate: 25.1 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 10,935
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 19mph (30km/h)
#14. Ecuador
Car Accident Death Rate: 27 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 3,911
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 56mph (90km/h)
#13. Burkina Faso
Car Accident Death Rate: 27.7 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 4,566
#12. Mauritania
Car Accident Death Rate: 28 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 970
Max Urban Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)
#11. Lesotho
Car Accident Death Rate: 28.4 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 616
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)
#10. Uganda
Car Accident Death Rate: 28.9 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 9,655
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)
#9. Chad
Car Accident Death Rate: 29.7 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 3,339
#8. Oman
Car Accident Death Rate: 30.4 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 845
Max Urban Speed Limit: 62mph (100km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)
#7. Iraq
Car Accident Death Rate: 31.5 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 9,962
#6. South Africa
Car Accident Death Rate: 31.9 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 15,995
Max Urban Speed Limit: 37mph (60km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 62mph (100km/h)
#5. Nigeria
Car Accident Death Rate: 33.7 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 53,339
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
#4. Islamic Republic of Iran
Car Accident Death Rate: 34.1 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 25,224
Max Urban Speed Limit: 37mph (60km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 47mph (75km/h)
#3. Bolivarian Republic Of Venezuela
Car Accident Death Rate: 37.2 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 10,791
Max Urban Speed Limit: 25mph (40km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 10mph (15km/h)
#2. Thailand
Car Accident Death Rate: 38.1 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 26,312
Max Urban Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 56mph (90km/h)
#1. Dominican Republic
Car Accident Death Rate: 41.7 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 4,143
Max Urban Speed Limit: 22mph (35km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 37mph (60km/h)
