In 2020, 153,500 people in the European Union died from accidents, accounting for approximately 3.0% of all deaths (Fig. 1).

Accidents as a cause of death among European residents in 2020. (Publicly available data from Eurostat)

Trauma is the leading cause of mortality and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), particularly in Europeans aged 40 years and below. Following deaths due to malignant neoplasms of the trachea, bronchus, and lung (20.6% of all causes), injuries account for 20.2% of deaths in the European working population. Between 2011 and 2020, the overall mortality rate from RTIs declined from 7% to 4.9%. More than one-third of all deaths among individuals aged 15–19 years in Europe were trauma-related (Fig. 1).

Depending on the country, 2.3% to 13.7% of European residents aged 15 years and older reported experiencing injuries at home or during leisure activities within a one-year period (Fig. 2).

Trauma-related share of all deaths in the European population stratified by age, adopted from publicly available data from Eurostat

In 2021, the number of country-specific hospital discharges for inpatients with injuries ranged from 614 to 2389 per 100,000 inhabitants (Figs. 3, 4).

Male and Female Europeans aged 15 years and older reporting injuries within one year (publicly available data from Eurostat)

The rate of hospital discharges for inpatients with injuries in European countries in 2021 (publicly available data from Eurostat)

On average, the length of stay following injuries in Europe was 7.2 days (± 2.0) in 2016 and 7.0 days (± 1.7) in 2021. Patients with major fractures (e.g., femur fractures) experienced a decrease in length of stay by an average of 1.3 days (± 0.9) (see Fig. 5).

Death rate by cause of injury stratified by European sub-region in 2019