Road deaths in Romania fell by 12% in 2025, but the country’s road mortality rate remains the second-highest in the EU

The European Commission’s report of October 27 indicates 1,296 road deaths in Romania in 2025 and a rate of 68 per million inhabitants, compared with the EU average of 43. Romania is among the five countries considered to be on track to meet the 2030 target, although national data may still be revised.

Romania recorded 1,296 road deaths in 2025, 12% fewer than in 2024, according to the report published by the European Commission on October 27, 2026. With 68 deaths per million inhabitants, the country still has the second-highest road mortality rate in the EU, after Bulgaria, while the Union average is 43. The new figures update the preliminary estimates published in March.

In brief

The European Commission reports 1,296 road deaths in Romania in 2025: a decrease of 12% compared with 2024 and 30% compared with 2019.

Romania remains second in the EU by road mortality rate, with 68 deaths per million inhabitants. Bulgaria has 71, while the European average is 43.

Romania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark and Poland are the five countries considered by the Commission to be on track to halve the number of deaths by 2030. The assessment does not guarantee that the target will be reached.

At EU level, the 2025 total is 19,350 deaths, 3% fewer than in 2024. Most Member States are not yet on track to meet the European objective.

The MAI publication Pentru Patrie reported a national total of 1,293 deaths for 2025, three fewer than the Commission’s total. The European methodological note states that data from national sources, including those for Romania, may still be provisional and subject to revision.

For the first half of 2026, the Commission’s table indicates a decrease of more than 10% in deaths in Romania compared with the same period in 2025. These data are provisional and do not represent the total for the full year.

The Commission presents the October results as the final European figures for 2025, following the publication of preliminary estimates in March. The 19,350 deaths reported for the EU mean approximately 580 fewer than in 2024 and 3,400 fewer than in 2019, a cumulative decrease of 15%.

In Romania, the 30% reduction compared with 2019 is greater than the decrease at Union level. Compared with the 2017–2019 average, the number of deaths fell by 32%. These percentages describe the change in the number of people who died, not the change in the rate calculated against the population.

Progress has not eliminated the gap with countries having the lowest rates. Romania remains behind Bulgaria in the population-based mortality ranking and ahead of Croatia. At the other end of the comparison are Sweden, with 19 deaths per million inhabitants, and Denmark, with 24. The indicator allows comparisons relative to population size, without directly measuring the risk for each kilometre travelled.

The Commission considers Romania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark and Poland to be on the trajectory required to halve road deaths by 2030. This assessment concerns the pace of progress, not the achievement of a low mortality level. The EU objective is to reduce deaths and serious injuries by 50% by 2030, compared with 2019, and move towards zero deaths by 2050 through Vision Zero.

Presenting the European report as final does not rule out revisions to national figures. The methodological note distinguishes between data validated in the CARE database and data taken from national sources. Romania does not appear on the list of countries with 2025 data validated in CARE at the time of publication; its figure comes from a national source, a category for which the Commission warns that values may still be provisional and may change. The population data used to calculate the rates come from Eurostat.

There is also a slightly different national total. The Ministry of Internal Affairs’ magazine Pentru Patrie published a summary of the Romanian Police’s activity on January 22, 2026, indicating 3,950 serious road accidents, 1,293 deaths and 3,125 seriously injured people in 2025. Compared with 2024, the report shows 285 fewer serious accidents, 185 fewer people killed and 122 fewer seriously injured people. The death total is three below the 1,296 in the Commission’s table; each figure refers to the report published by the respective source.

According to the MAI summary, improper pedestrian crossings, failure to adjust speed to road conditions and failure to yield to vehicles were the main identified causes of serious accidents. The Police carried out 67,126 prevention and enforcement operations in 2025 and confiscated 190,441 driving licences. These data describe the authorities’ activities and the causes recorded in the national analysis, without establishing the contribution of each measure to the decline in deaths.

The summary describes the use of the e-SIGUR system from January 1, 2025, with radar devices mounted visibly outside the carriageway. It separately mentions the e-SAR platform, which processes citizens’ reports concerning aggressive behaviour in traffic.

The new European table also provides an initial indication for 2026: in Romania, the number of road deaths in the first six months fell by more than 10% compared with the same period in 2025. This is a category of change, not an exact percentage or an annual total. All figures for the first half of the year come from provisional national sources. The Commission recommends caution and recalls the seasonal nature of accidents, with a higher frequency during the summer.

In its European analysis, the Commission highlights roads outside urban areas and the exposure of pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and older people. These observations do not constitute a complete breakdown of victims in Romania in 2025. The European executive also estimates approximately five seriously injured people for every road death, equivalent to around 100,000 seriously injured people annually in the EU. This is an estimate of the scale of the problem, not a final harmonised count for 2025.

The interim evaluation of European road safety policy, presented in February 2026, concludes that the pace of progress at EU level is insufficient. Priorities include safer infrastructure, enforcement of traffic rules, vehicle safety technologies and the protection of vulnerable road users. States and local authorities implement most operational measures, while the EU contributes through rules, cross-border cooperation and funding.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/news/romania-a-redus-cu-12-decesele-rutiere-in-2025-dar-are-in-continuare-a-doua-cea-mai-mare-rata-a-mortalitatii-din-ue