Iraq road deaths rose to +3000 despite drop in accidents in 2023: official

Shafaq News/ Iraq's road accident fatalities rose in 2023 despite a slight decrease in the overall number of accidents, data by the Ministry of Planning suggested on Sunday.

There were 11,552 road accidents recorded last year, a 0.3% increase from 2022, according to ministry spokesperson Abdulzahra al-Hindawi. However, those accidents resulted in 3,019 deaths, a 0.1% decrease compared to the previous year.

"These accidents resulted in the deaths of 3,019 people," al-Hindawi said. "While the number of accidents has remained relatively stable, we are concerned about the continued high number of fatalities."

The Ministry's report cited driver error as the leading cause of accidents (79%), followed by vehicle-related issues (10.4%) and road conditions (6%).

Collisions were the most frequent type of accident (56.4%), followed by pedestrian accidents (33.9%), according to al-Hindawi.

"September recorded the highest number of accidents (1,165) at 10.1%, followed by October with 1,039 accidents (9%) and November with 1,034 accidents (9%) of the total number of accidents," he said. "The remaining months accounted for 8,314 accidents (72%) of the total 11,552 accidents that occurred in 2023."