Tunisia Ranks 61st in Global Road Safety Report
According to the Global Status Report on Road Safety published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and reported by the international website Atlas & Boots, Tunisia ranks 61st in the world in terms of road safety.
A Middle-of-the-Road Situation
With an estimated 16.3 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, Tunisia falls within the global average, far behind the countries most affected by road accidents, but still above the safety standards observed in developed countries. The report indicates that globally, roads continue to kill over 1.19 million people every year, despite a 5% decrease since 2010. In Africa, the average remains the highest in the world, with several countries exceeding 25 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.
Comparison with Other Countries
For comparison, Guinea and Libya occupy the first two places in the ranking, with 34.4 and 33.2 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively, followed by Haiti, Zimbabwe, and Guinea-Bissau. Tunisia, with 16.3 deaths, appears as a moderately risky country, better ranked than its immediate neighbors in the Maghreb and Arab world: Morocco (19.9), Algeria (20.7), and Egypt (23.1).
A Relative Maghreb Exception
If Tunisia remains far from European standards, its relatively better position in North Africa reflects a certain progress in mastering road accidents. In the Arab world, only Qatar (9.3), the United Arab Emirates (11.9), and Saudi Arabia (13.4) perform better, thanks to strict safety policies and modernized infrastructure. On the other hand, countries like Yemen (31.0) and Syria (27.9) are among the most dangerous, a direct consequence of political instability and lack of road network maintenance.
Challenges Ahead
This means that despite its average position, Tunisia still faces several structural challenges: excessive speed, the main cause of fatal accidents, wear and tear on the road network in inland regions, non-wearing of seatbelts, and use of phones while driving, as well as insufficient prevention campaigns and defensive driving training. The Tunisian Ministry of Interior recorded over 5,000 road accidents in 2024, causing nearly 1,000 deaths, figures that recall the urgency of a thorough reform of road safety.
Recommendations and Future Plans
The WHO report recommends that countries with intermediate risk, including Tunisia, intensify public traffic control policies, improve infrastructure quality, and strengthen the safety of vulnerable users (pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists). Tunisia, engaged in a program to modernize its highway network and digitize driving services, hopes to reduce the number of victims by half by 2030, in line with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
