The ATO road safety profiles offer insights into the road safety in 28 Asia-Pacific countries by utilizing road safety related data from various sources and policy information extracted from a range of documents.

The profiles were created by the Asian Transport Observatory —in collaboration with the Asia Pacific Road Safety Observatory (APRSO), and the International Road Federation (IRF)— as an input to global discussions on road safety, in time for the Fourth Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Marrakech, Morocco.

Bangladesh faces a significant challenge with road crash fatalities. While official statistics report lower figures, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates a staggering 32,000 deaths in 2021 equivalent to 1% of total deaths in the country.

There is a significant discrepancy in the data reported by different sources for Bangladesh. The numbers reported by country statistics and Global Burden of Disease, for 2020 and 2021 are respectively about 4 thousand and 11 thousand fatalities. While WHO reports almost 32 thousand fatalities for the same year. This inconsistency underscores the need for improved data collection and reporting mechanisms to accurately assess the burden of road crashes.

Road safety in Bangladesh presents a concerning picture. While the share of female fatalities in road crashes decreased from 12% to 9% between 2015 and 2021, it is notably lower than the Asia-Pacific average of 23%. However, the combined share of fatalities among minors (<14 years old) and seniors (>65 years old) remains high at 40%, exceeding the regional average. Vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists, account for a disproportionate 34% of fatalities, highlighting the need for improved infrastructure and safety measures.

The human cost extends beyond the immediate victims. The economic cost of road crashes is substantial, amounting to approximately 5% of Bangladesh's GDP in 2021. Despite the challenges, there is a significant opportunity for improvement. A relatively modest annual investment of 0.2% of GDP could potentially save 11,000 lives. This underscores the urgent need for investment in road safety infrastructure, particularly for vulnerable road users.

Road crashes constitute about 95% of the total implicit costs due to fossil fuel subsidies in transport. IRAP estimates that an annual invesment of 768 million USD, or just about 0.2% of Bangladesh's GDP, could potentially save about 11 thousand fatalities per year.

Bangladesh has a high rate of road fatalities (about 67) per thousand kilometers of road. In Bangladesh, currently, only 2% of roads have a 3-star or better safety rating for pedestrians and 5% for cyclists, lagging significantly behind regional averages. While vehicle occupants have a 20% share of 3-star or better roads, motorcyclists remain particularly vulnerable, with only 11% of roads meeting this safety standard.

Bangladesh's vehicle fleet has experienced significant growth, with 5.46 million vehicles currently in use, representing 32 vehicles per thousand people. This marks a substantial increase from 5 vehicles per thousand in 2000. However, Bangladesh's vehicle density remains relatively low compared to the Asia-Pacific average of 577 vehicles per thousand population in 2022 and the South Asia subregion's average of 234. The composition of the vehicle fleet is dominated by two-wheelers, which account for 72%, followed by light-duty vehicles (LDVs) at 14%. Three-wheelers comprise 6%, while buses and trucks represent 2% and 4%, respectively, with other vehicle types making up the remaining 2%.

World Health Organization (WHO) estimates a staggering 32,000 deaths in 2021, with a fatality rate of 18.6 per 100,000 population. This is notably higher than the Asia-Pacific average of 15.2 and the South Asia average of 16.1. Alarmingly, the situation has worsened over time, with a 8% increase in fatality rate between 2010 and 2021, contrasting with the improvements seen in the broader Asia-Pacific and South Asia regions.

Bangladesh had about 641 fatalities per 100 thousand registered vehicles.

• Urgent action needed to reduce road fatalities The Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 aims to cut road fatalities in half by 2030. An annual reduction of at least 7.4% is necessary to achieve this.
• Asia-Pacific region falling behind Despite reaching a peak in road crash fatalities, the Asia-Pacific region is not on track to meet the 2030 goal. The average annual reduction in deaths between 2016 and 2021 was only 0.6%, far below the required rate.
• Varying progress across Asia Using the 2016-2021 road crash fatality growth rate as a basis for estimates until 2030:
  • Only 3 Asian countries are projected to achieve the 50% reduction target by 2030.
  • 18 Asian countries are expected to reduce fatalities by at least 25%.
  • Worryingly, 7 Asian countries will continue to increase road fatalities, moving further away from the target.
• In Bangladesh, road crash fatalities increased by approximately 4.8% per year between 2016 and 2021. If this pattern persists, the gap between current trends and the 2030 target will only widen

Bangladesh is committed to significantly reducing road crash fatalities by 2025 and beyond, in line with the targets set in the National Road Safety Strategic Action Plan, the Eighth Five-Year Plan, and the Perspective Plan of Bangladesh 2021-2041. To achieve this, the government will adopt a multi-faceted approach encompassing infrastructure development, vehicle safety standards, public awareness campaigns, and stricter enforcement of traffic laws. Drawing upon the Road Transport Act 2018 and the Speed Limit Guideline 2024, enforcement will focus on speeding, drunk driving, and using helmets and seatbelts. Infrastructure improvements, guided by the Road Master Plan 2009, will include constructing 10,000 km of bike lanes and footpaths, upgrading road quality to achieve a ranking of 40th globally by 2025, and modernizing railway infrastructure to encourage a modal shift from road to rail, as envisioned in the National Integrated Multi-modal Transport Policy and the Final Report on Updating Railway Master Plan. Furthermore, the "Vision Zero" approach to road safety will be promoted, emphasizing that no loss of life is acceptable.

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IMF. (2024). Climate Data. https://climatedata.imf.org/pages/access-data

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. (2021). GBD Results. GBD Results. https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-results

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. (2024). Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 (GBD 2021) Cause-Specific Mortality 1990-2021. https://ghdx.healthdata.org/record/ihme-data/gbd-2021-cause-specific-mortality-1990-2021

iRAP. (2024). Safety Insights Explorer. iRAP. https://irap.org/safety-insights-explorer/

Nirandjan, S., Koks, E. E., Ward, P. J., & Aerts, J. C. J. H. (2022). A spatially-explicit harmonized global dataset of critical infrastructure. Scientific Data, 9(1), 150. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01218-4

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division. (2022). World Population Prospects 2022. https://population.un.org/wpp/

WHO. (2023). Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023. https://www.who.int/teams/social-determinants-of-health/safety-and-mobility/global-status-report-on-road-safety-2023

World Bank. (2023). GDP, PPP (current international $). World Bank Open Data. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.PP.CD

World Bank. (2024). Current health expenditure (% of GDP). World Bank Open Data. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS