According to a new study from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, Americans are ten times more likely to die of cancer or heart disease than in an auto accident. The study, available here, used World Health Organization data to compare the rates of death by car accidents, heart disease, cancer and cerebrovascular disease in 193 countries.
Overall, auto deaths average 18 per 100,000 people, according to the paper published this month. The most dangerous country to drive in is Namibia at 45 per 100,000. The safest? The Maldives in the Indian Ocean with just 2 fatalities per 100,000 drivers. The U.S. ranks just slightly below the average at 14 per 100,000. (See map below.)
University of Michigan
The 25 countries with the highest (red) and lowest (green) rates of fatalities per population from road crashes.
The highest rate of fatalities:
More Must-Reads from TIME
- L.A. Fires Show Reality of 1.5°C of Warming
- How Canada Fell Out of Love With Trudeau
- Trump Is Treating the Globe Like a Monopoly Board
- Bad Bunny On Heartbreak and New Album
- 10 Boundaries Therapists Want You to Set in the New Year
- The Motivational Trick That Makes You Exercise Harder
- Nicole Kidman Is a Pure Pleasure to Watch in Babygirl
- Column: Jimmy Carter’s Global Legacy Was Moral Clarity
Contact us at letters@time.com