Accidents at work claimed 3 286 lives in 2022 in the EU

Accidents at work claimed 3 286 lives in 2022 in the EU

There were nearly 2.97 million non-fatal accidents at work in the EU in 2022, a 3% increase from 2.88 million in 2021 (+ 87 139 more non-fatal accidents). This increase is probably due to the economic restart in 2022 that followed the general slowdown related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2022, 3 286 work-related accidents were fatal, accounting for 0.1% of all accidents. This was 61 fatalities less than in 2021 and 122 less than in 2013.

This information comes from the European statistics on accidents at work (ESAW) data collection that was released by Eurostat today. This article presents a handful of findings from a more detailed Statistics Explained article on accidents at work.

Fatal accidents at work in the EU, 2013-2022, number. Chart. See link to full dataset below.

Source dataset: hsw_mi_08

Across the EU, there were on average 1.66 fatalities per 100 000 employed people in 2022, down from 1.76 fatalities in 2021. The incidence rate has remained below 2.0 fatalities per 100 000 workers since 2016.

Incidence rate for fatal accidents at work in the EU, 2013-2022, per 100 000 workers. Chart. See link to full dataset below.

Source dataset: hsw_mi_08

Source: Eurostat, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/product?code=ddn-20241119-1