Why Traffic Kills in the Developing World

In developed nations, traffic deaths are dropping, thanks to improved safety features and legal crackdowns on drunk and distracted driving, a 2013 report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicated. 

But in the developing world, traffic deaths are on the rise. Across all countries, traffic kills more than 1.2 million people a year — a number set to triple by 2030, The Washington Post reported, based on the most recent Global Burden of Disease study.

Young, poor and male individuals are significantly more likely to die in traffic accidents than other groups, the report said. Although 50 percent of the world’s road traffic is in poor countries, 90 percent of traffic fatalities take place in these nations, The Post reported. Poor road conditions, long trip times and unsafe vehicles are largely to blame, according to the Population Reference Bureau.

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Michigan researchers also compared fatality rates from other top global killers to traffic. In the United States, for example, citizens are 13 times more likely to die from cancer than cars. Americans are six times more likely to die from heart disease.

Interestingly, the parts of the world where traffic deaths are the highest also report the lowest cancer fatalities, researchers found. The Atlantic explains: “The data of death is really more like a picture of the way we live. It is lower-income and developing countries where auto fatalities post a sizable threat to individuals, compared to heart disease and cancer, whose risks rise with old age and obesity, [both hallmarks of richer nations].”

Click through the slideshow above for the top 25 most dangerous nations for drivers — and to see how the U.S. stacks up.

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