Work-related Injuries Around the World

This interactive map presents international work-related fatal injury rates and counts collected by the International Labour Organization (ILO), a United Nations agency. Use the filters at the top of the map to explore fatality trends by year and economic activity. Hover over a country to view historic trends and details. Participation by countries varies each year; adjust the “year” filter to see if data are available for a specific country.

The ILO warns that there may be under-reporting of fatal occupational injuries. Under-reporting is thought to be present in countries at all levels of development, but may be particularly problematic in some developing countries. Users should be aware of this when using the data.

Because of potential data quality issues, it is recommended to focus on historic trends rather than on single-year rates or counts. When measured over time, the data can reveal progress or deterioration in occupational safety and health, and thus point to the effectiveness of prevention measures. Also, indicators on occupational injuries and fatalities are volatile, and large annual fluctuations may occur due to unexpected but significant incidents or national calamities. It is important to analyze the underlying trends.

Finally, the variety of data sources on occupational injuries and fatalities (which includes administrative records, establishment surveys, and household surveys such as labor force surveys) hinders the comparability of the data across countries, since each source provides information on different, specific concepts.

Source: National Safety Council analysis of ILO data.