A total of 38,712 road traffic accidents were recorded countrywide in 2025, with 2,068 classified as fatal and resulting in 2,567 deaths, according to the Zambia Police Service’s latest road traffic accident report. The report further showed that 3,687 were serious accidents in which 7,045 people sustained serious injuries, while 7,560 were slight accidents with 11,166 minor injuries recorded. Police Spokesperson Godfrey Chilabi confirmed the statistics in a statement issued in Lusaka on Thursday.
In addition, 25,397 were recorded as damage-only accidents, bringing the total number of casualties for the year to 20,778. Lusaka Province recorded the highest number of accidents with 20,230 cases, followed by Copperbelt with 4,988, Central with 3,862, Northwestern with 2,200, Southern with 2,197, Eastern with 1,431, Muchinga with 1,259, Luapula with 1,016, Northern with 798, and Western Province with 731. A total of 182,054 road traffic offences were recorded in 2025, with the highest numbers reported in Copperbelt (38,633) and Lusaka (36,607), followed by Central (30,731) and Muchinga (23,662).
“Moderate figures were recorded in Northwestern (11,169), Northern (11,000), and Southern (9,304), while the lowest numbers were observed in Luapula (7,630), Eastern (7,235), and Western Province (6,083),” Chilabi said. According to the statistics, all indicators showed an increase compared to 2024 when 35,731 accidents were recorded, rising by 2,981 to 38,712 in 2025, representing an 8.3 percent increase. Chilabi said fatal accidents increased from 1,804 in 2024, with 2,199 deaths, to 2,068 in 2025, with 2,567 deaths, representing 264 more fatal accidents and 368 more lives lost.
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He pointed out that serious accidents rose from 3,450 to 3,687, while serious injuries increased by 1,247, from 5,798 to 7,045. Chilabi said slight accidents increased from 7,511 to 7,560, with minor injuries rising from 10,123 to 11,166, an increase of 1,043. Damage-only accidents also went up, from 22,966 in 2024 to 25,397 in 2025.
He said most accidents occurred in the fourth quarter of the year with 10,400 cases, followed by 10,126 in the third quarter, 9,377 in the second, and 8,809 in the first. A total of 1,493 child casualties were recorded, comprising 866 boys—148 killed, 321 seriously injured, and 397 slightly injured—and 627 girls, of whom 95 were killed, 233 seriously injured, and 299 slightly injured. He said most of the child victims were pedestrians and passengers.
Chilabi stated that human error remained the leading cause of accidents. “Most accidents were attributed to human error.
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