WESREN BALKANS – The latest road safety figures released by the Permanent Secretariat of the Transport Community show a small drop in the number of people losing their lives on the roads of the Western Balkans. In 2024, the region recorded 1,225 road traffic deaths, compared to 1,261 in 2023 – a 2.9% decrease. Since 2019, the number of fatalities in the region has fallen by 6.8%.
While this progress is encouraging, the overall pace of improvement is not fast enough to meet the region’s goal of cutting road deaths and serious injuries by 50% by 2030.
Four Western Balkan partners reported fewer road deaths in 2024:
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: –12.9%
- Albania: –8.9%
- Kosovo: –8.5%
- Montenegro: –3.8%
However, the number of road fatalities increased in two partners:
- North Macedonia: +11.8%
- Serbia: +2.2%
Although the total number of deaths continues to decline, the region remains above the European Union average, where the rate stands at about 45 deaths per million inhabitants.
The Transport Community has been publishing annual regional road safety statistics since 2021 to help governments track progress in reducing road deaths and serious injuries; improve road safety policies using reliable data; and gradually align with EU road safety standards.
This work is supported through the Western Balkans Road Safety Observatory, a platform that helps countries collect and compare data, improve national strategies, and work towards safer roads for all.
The Transport Community is urging all partners to step up efforts so that the positive trend continues and accelerates. Key areas that need urgent attention include establishing strong national road safety agencies and coordination bodies, improving road safety laws and their enforcement, investing in safer roads and infrastructure, and protecting vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.
Improving data collection and reporting also remains essential to understand risks and shape effective measures.
The Transport Community’s Next Generation Road Safety Action Plan sets clear targets: a 25% reduction in deaths and serious injuries by 2027, and 50% by 2030. These goals are in line with the EU’s “Vision Zero” – the long-term objective of eliminating road deaths and serious injuries by 2050.
Read the full report here.
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* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.
