India has the highest number of road accident deaths in the world. Despite having just 1% of the world's vehicles, India accounts for 11% of the world's total road accident fatalities.
According to the World Bank, 1.5 lakh people die in about 4.5 lakh road accidents each year in India. From 2010-2020, 13 lakh people lost their lives and 50 lakh were injured on Indian roads.
The World Bank estimates that road accidents cost Rs. 12.9 lakh crore or 7.5% of the country's GDP in 2016. These are more than double that of the government's official figures.
A recent study by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways puts the socio-economic costs of road accidents at Rs. 1.47 lakh crore or 0.77% of the GDP. The ministry estimates the cost to be Rs. 5.96 lakh crore or 3.14% of GDP after adjusting for under reporting. It is also said that 76.2% of people killed in road accidents are in the age of 18-45 years.
Source: ET Auto