Between 2010 and 2021, road traffic fatalities fell in Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Timor-Leste

India had an estimated 15.4 road traffic deaths per 100,000 population in 2021, marginally higher than the global average of 15, according to the WHO South-East Asia Regional status report on road safety. However, the rate of such deaths in India has declined by almost 10% since 2010.

The figures published on Tuesday by the World Health Organization spotlight the road safety in the South East Asia Region which accounted for 330,223 of the 1.19 million estimated global road traffic deaths in 2021, making up 28% of the global burden. Nepal led with 28.2 accidents per 100,000 population followed by Thailand with 25.4, while Maldives had the lowest rate such deaths in the region (1.3 per 100,000 population).

The vulnerable road users - pedestrians, motorized two and three-wheeler users and cyclists - constitute 66% of all the reported deaths.  Within this group, the drivers, and riders of two-and three-wheeled motorized vehicles make up 46% of the fatalities.

However, the estimated road traffic death rates in the period 2010–2021 have declined in Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste, whereas they have increased in Nepal and Bangladesh.

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