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ILO · Fatal Occupational Injuries
Fatal occupational injuries by country
How many workers die from injuries at work?
Of the 52 countries compared in 2023, Belgium had the lowest reading, 0.120, and Türkiye had the highest reading, 8.409. In the middle country the figure was 2.005. Among the 25 countries measured in every edition since 2000, the middle one moved from 5.200 to 2.010.
Fatal occupational injuries · 2023
Context statistic
Lowest of 52Belgium
0.120012023 · values only
Who leads
The three countries at the lowest end of 52 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
1Photo: Gf uip · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2Photo: Brian Gratwicke derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
3Photo: Traveler100 · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
Highest in 2023
Türkiye8.409
Colombia6.460
Turkmenistan6.040
Where a country sits says how it compares with the others measured, and nothing about why.
02Every measured country
Fatal occupational injuries on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a lower value — the better end.
- 3.930–8.409
- 2.550–3.530
- 1.480–2.254
- 1.030–1.470
- 0.120–1.028
- No reading in 2023 (45 measured in an earlier edition)
- Europe
1.640
the middle country, of 31 measured · 49 members
Belgium0.120
Russia5.300Lowest and highest reading in Europe.
- Americas
3.380
the middle country, of 6 measured · 48 members
Panama0.130Colombia6.460Lowest and highest reading in Americas.
- Asia
3.930
the middle country, of 13 measured · 52 members
Sri Lanka0.610Türkiye8.409Lowest and highest reading in Asia.
- Africa
1 of 55 measured — too few for a middle: Mauritius.
Mauritius2.600Lowest and highest reading in Africa.
- Oceania
1 of 21 measured — too few for a middle: Australia.
Australia1.416Lowest and highest reading in Oceania.
- Every region
14 sub-regions, lowest middle country first
- Western Europe
0.920
the middle country, of 6 measured · 9 members
Belgium0.120
Austria2.010Lowest and highest reading in Western Europe.
- Northern Europe
1.380
the middle country, of 9 measured · 13 members
Sweden1.024
Latvia3.530Lowest and highest reading in Northern Europe.
- Southern Europe
2.010
the middle country, of 7 measured · 17 members
Greece1.480
Portugal2.690Lowest and highest reading in Southern Europe.
- Eastern Europe
2.254
the middle country, of 9 measured · 10 members
Slovakia0.860Russia5.300Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Western Asia
3.240
the middle country, of 5 measured · 19 members
Israel1.624Türkiye8.409Lowest and highest reading in Western Asia.
- Australia and New Zealand
1 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia.
Australia1.416Lowest and highest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Central America
1 of 8 measured — too few for a middle: Panama.
Panama0.130Lowest and highest reading in Central America.
- Central Asia
2 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan4.000Turkmenistan6.040Lowest and highest reading in Central Asia.
- Eastern Africa
1 of 19 measured — too few for a middle: Mauritius.
Mauritius2.600Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Eastern Asia
3 of 8 measured — too few for a middle: Japan, Mongolia, South Korea.
Japan1.320
Mongolia4.400Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada, United States.
United States3.500
Canada5.198Lowest and highest reading in Northern America.
- South America
3 of 12 measured — too few for a middle: Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador.
Ecuador1.000Colombia6.460Lowest and highest reading in South America.
- South-eastern Asia
2 of 11 measured — too few for a middle: Singapore, Thailand.
Singapore0.990
Thailand5.110Lowest and highest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Southern Asia
1 of 9 measured — too few for a middle: Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka0.610Lowest and highest reading in Southern Asia.
03The whole field at once
The spread
52 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 2.005; a quarter are above 3.502, and a quarter below 1.265. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 97 ever measured
Every country
In order, lowest value first. No rank or position is shown: too many countries share the same value for an order to mean anything. Read this as a measure of reporting as much as of safety. A country that investigates every workplace death will record more than one that investigates none, and the most dangerous places to work are largely missing from the table altogether. No position is shown, because numbering these rows would read as a safety ranking and it is not one.
Showing 25 of 97 countries
Values for 2023. The change column compares 2023 with 2022 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
052000–2023 · 23 editions
Over time
Each point is one reference year from 2000. A rise can mean deteriorating safety or improving record-keeping, and the series cannot tell you which.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 25 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 52 | 2.005 | 1.265 – 3.502 | 2.010 |
| 2022 | 57 | 2.200 | 1.300 – 3.700 | 2.034 |
| 2021 | 56 | 2.165 | 1.386 – 4.403 | 2.000 |
| 2020 | 59 | 2.470 | 1.385 – 3.745 | 2.300 |
| 2019 | 59 | 2.510 | 1.375 – 4.440 | 2.100 |
| 2018 | 59 | 2.400 | 1.510 – 3.825 | 2.120 |
| 2017 | 58 | 2.010 | 1.210 – 3.702 | 2.010 |
| 2016 | 56 | 2.249 | 1.746 – 4.290 | 2.110 |
| 2015 | 61 | 2.790 | 1.730 – 5.000 | 2.670 |
| 2014 | 55 | 2.560 | 1.770 – 4.871 | 2.460 |
| 2013 | 57 | 3.020 | 2.010 – 5.830 | 2.630 |
| 2012 | 57 | 3.810 | 2.060 – 5.750 | 2.750 |
| 2011 | 58 | 3.410 | 2.098 – 5.740 | 3.120 |
| 2010 | 52 | 3.365 | 2.227 – 6.775 | 3.090 |
| 2009 | 54 | 3.365 | 2.152 – 6.675 | 3.080 |
| 2007 | 51 | 5.000 | 3.300 – 7.754 | 4.300 |
| 2006 | 53 | 5.000 | 3.000 – 8.000 | 4.600 |
| 2005 | 57 | 4.600 | 3.000 – 7.500 | 4.500 |
| 2004 | 59 | 5.000 | 2.950 – 8.550 | 5.000 |
| 2003 | 64 | 5.245 | 3.398 – 9.550 | 5.100 |
| 2002 | 67 | 6.060 | 3.850 – 10.075 | 5.000 |
| 2001 | 68 | 5.850 | 3.375 – 9.245 | 5.200 |
| 2000 | 71 | 6.400 | 3.940 – 9.550 | 5.200 |
062022 → 2023
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Improved most
before → afterWorsened most
before → after- Türkiye6.340 → 8.409+2.069
Azerbaijan2.000 → 4.000+2.000- Colombia4.659 → 6.460+1.801
- Mauritius1.300 → 2.600+1.300
Cyprus2.230 → 3.240+1.010
50 countries were measured in both 2022 and 2023. The field changed from 57 to 52 countries, so a place can move for reasons that have nothing to do with the country itself.
07Across every edition
Fatal occupational injuries in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
133.400
Fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 workers
Lowest reading on record
Reached 19 times by 4 countries — shared, so no holder is named
0.000
Fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 workers
ILO · 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2021
Biggest improvement between editions
−35.100
133.400 → 98.300
Biggest decline between editions
+44.100
89.300 → 133.400
Most improved since first measured
−16.191
24.600 → 8.409
At the top most often
5 of 23
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08By sex
Inside the number
International Labour Organization (ILO) also publishes separate female and male readings. The gap between them, where both exist.
Of the 24 countries with both readings, the women reading is higher in 0, the men reading in 24. The widest gaps each way:
09The measure
About fatal occupational injuries
This counts deaths caused by injuries at work, per 100,000 workers, as reported by national labour inspectorates to the ILO. It is the headline global measure of how dangerous work is.
What the number is: Fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 workers.
10Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Work & Labour and Health & Wellbeing, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Work & LabourHealth & WellbeingWhich statistics vote, and why
Moves with
Where fatal occupational injuries is higher, these tend to be higher too.
No statistic lines up this closely.
Moves against
Where fatal occupational injuries is higher, these tend to be lower.
No statistic lines up this closely.
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 0 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
11Keep reading
Explore further
The subject
The countries at either end
12Questions
Fatal occupational injuries: questions and answers
Which country has the lowest fatal occupational injuries?
Belgium, at 0.120, among the 52 countries compared in 2023.
Which country has the highest fatal occupational injuries?
Türkiye, at 8.409, among the 52 countries compared in 2023.
How many countries does the Fatal Occupational Injuries cover?
52 in 2023, and 97 at least once across all editions. The number measured varies from 51 to 71 between editions.
What is the world average fatal occupational injuries?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 52 compared in 2023, the figure was 2.005.
Is this International Labour Organization (ILO)’s own ranking?
No ranking is shown. International Labour Organization (ILO) publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything, so none is derived.
How often is the Fatal Occupational Injuries published?
This site holds 23 editions, describing 2000 to 2023.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From International Labour Organization (ILO), under CC BY 4.0. SDG indicator 8.8.1, read from ILOSTAT directly. Only 99 countries report at all, so this series uses a 50-country floor rather than the site's usual 80. Every edition is available on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, unrounded.
13Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Fatal Occupational Injuries — International Labour Organization (ILO)
SDG indicator 8.8.1, read from ILOSTAT directly. Only 99 countries report at all, so this series uses a 50-country floor rather than the site's usual 80.
Newest edition
Report year 2023Data year 2023
Cite the source as: International Labour Organization. ILOSTAT. Geneva: ILO.
Licence: CC BY 4.0, checked 2026-09-10.
How this page reads the numbers
- No rank or position is shown: International Labour Organization (ILO) publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The full note on this data
23 reference years (2000–2023), covering 51 to 71 countries, SDG indicator 8.8.1 read from ILOSTAT directly (SDG_F881_SEX_MIG_RT), with the female and male figures beside the headline. ⚠ THIS IS A REPORTING MEASURE AS MUCH AS A SAFETY ONE, and the trap is severe enough to state twice: a country with a functioning labour inspectorate that investigates every workplace death records MORE of them than a country that records almost none. The countries most dangerous to work in are largely ABSENT from this table. ⚠ Only 99 countries report at all and no year reaches 80, so this series uses a 50-country floor; 2008 and 2024 fall below even that and are not imported. ⚠ NO POSITION IS DERIVED, deliberately: numbering these rows 1, 2, 3 would read as "the safest countries in the world" when it is closer to "the countries that count carefully".
Photographs
The countries at the top of this statistic, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Belgium — Gf uip, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Panama — Brian Gratwicke derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY 2.0
- Netherlands — Traveler100, CC BY-SA 3.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Fatal occupational injuries by country: Fatal Occupational Injuries, data from International Labour Organization (ILO). https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/fatal-injuries