• Death traps

    Death traps

    The lack of decent infrastructure and a lackadaisical attitude towards traffic law enforcement are among the reasons Africa has the deadliest roads in the world. This also means poor access to emergency healthcare, resulting in those hurt being less likely to survive serious injury.

    The continent has a little under 5 000 cars for every 100 000 people, compared to Europe’s 48 000. Yet, the number of deaths caused by road accidents in Africa is almost three times higher (standing at just over 26 000 per 100 000 people, compared to under 10 000 in Europe), according to a Quartz Africa report. Most of the fatalities involve car occupants (40%) but pedestrians aren’t far behind as 38% are affected by road accidents in Africa.

    Overall, Libya is the deadliest country for road accidents, while Seychelles boasts some of the safest roads on the continent.

    10 November 2015
    Image: Gallo/GettyImages