Workplace accident data from 2022 is already sobering, with the United States recording 5,486 fatal work injuries and healthcare and support showing a sharp split between fewer deaths and many more nonfatal cases. Falls remain a major driver, while machinery, slips and trips, and handling injuries keep resurfacing across regions. These figures add up to a bill measured in billions, and they vary in ways that are harder to explain than most safety teams expect.
Key Takeaways
- Falls caused 27% of US nonfatal workplace injuries in private industry 2022
- Globally, machinery is cause of 18% of fatal accidents, per ILO
- In EU, slips/trips/falls account for 30% of non-fatal accidents
- US workplace injuries cost $167 billion in 2022 medical/wage losses
- Global occupational accidents cost 4% of GDP annually, $3 trillion
- EU work accidents cost €240 billion yearly, 2.7% GDP
- In 2022, the United States recorded 5,486 fatal work injuries, marking a 5.7% increase from 5,190 in 2021
- Globally, 340 million workers suffer occupational accidents annually, resulting in 299 million non-fatal injuries
- In the EU-27, 3,347 fatal accidents at work occurred in 2021, with a rate of 1.6 per 100,000 workers
- Construction accounted for 20.8% of US fatal injuries in 2022
- US healthcare/support: 5.9% of fatalities but 17% nonfatal cases 2022
- Globally, agriculture 27% of fatal injuries
- US nonfatal injuries totaled 2.6 million in 2022, rate 2.7 cases per 100 FTE
- EU-27 reported 2.6 million non-fatal accidents in 2021, rate 1,522 per 100,000 workers
- UK had 565,000 non-fatal injuries in 2021/22, 1.3 per 100 workers
Falls, slips, and unsafe handling drive the bulk of workplace injuries worldwide, costing trillions annually.
Related reading
01 · Category
Causes28 stats
01
Falls caused 27% of US nonfatal workplace injuries in private industry 2022
02
Globally, machinery is cause of 18% of fatal accidents, per ILO
03
In EU, slips/trips/falls account for 30% of non-fatal accidents
04
UK: Handling/carrying caused 31% of injuries in 2021/22
05
US violent acts caused 742 fatalities in 2022, 13.5% of total
06
Fires/explosions: 99 US fatalities in 2022
07
Harmful substances/exposures: 818 US fatalities 2022
08
Australia: Vehicle incidents 29% of serious claims 2021/22
09
Canada: Falls from height top cause in construction, 25% of fatalities
10
Germany: Falls 25% of non-fatal, machinery 20%
11
Japan: Falls/slips 28% of injuries 2022
12
Brazil: Falls 35% of fatal construction accidents
13
South Africa mining: Fall of ground 40% fatalities
14
China: Object strikes 25% of severe injuries
15
France: Musculoskeletal disorders 85% of occupational diseases
16
US: Struck by object 9.3% nonfatal cases 2022
17
Italy: Machinery accidents 22% non-fatal 2022
18
Spain: Overexertion 25% accidents 2022
19
Russia: Electrical incidents 15% fatalities
20
Mexico: Machinery top cause 20% non-fatal
21
South Korea: Falls 30% industrial accidents
22
US construction: Struck-by 32% fatalities
23
UK agriculture: Vehicles 20% fatalities
24
Global: Chemicals cause 2.8 million deaths yearly
25
Argentina: Heights falls 28% construction injuries
26
Turkey: Mining collapses 35% deaths
27
Poland: Machinery 25% accidents manufacturing
28
US transportation: Roadway 75% fatalities
Interpretation
Causes Interpretation
Across regions, the biggest cause signals are consistent and severe, with slips, trips, and falls making up 30% of non-fatal EU accidents, falls driving 27% of US nonfatal injuries in 2022, and violent acts accounting for 13.5% of US workplace fatalities in 2022.
02 · Category
Costs26 stats
01
US workplace injuries cost $167 billion in 2022 medical/wage losses
02
Global occupational accidents cost 4% of GDP annually, $3 trillion
03
EU work accidents cost €240 billion yearly, 2.7% GDP
04
UK ill-health/injuries cost £20.7 billion in 2021/22
05
Australia serious claims cost A$60.9 billion 2020/21
06
Canada work injuries cost C$25 billion annually
07
US construction fatalities cost $11.5 billion direct 2022
08
Germany accident insurance paid €15.5 billion 2022
09
Japan work accidents cost ¥4.5 trillion 2022
10
Brazil work accidents cost R$20 billion 2021
11
South Africa mining injuries cost R$10 billion yearly
12
China production safety accidents cost CNY 100 billion 2022
13
France ATMP cost €55 billion 2022
14
US average fatal injury cost $1.43 million 2022
15
Italy Inail paid €25 billion compensation 2022
16
Spain work accidents cost €27 billion 2022
17
Russia occupational injuries cost 1.5% GDP
18
Mexico work risks cost 2.8% GDP
19
South Korea industrial accidents cost KRW 40 trillion 2022
20
US nonfatal injury average cost $42,0002022
21
UK SME injury costs £16 billion yearly
22
Global MSDs cost $1 trillion productivity loss
23
Argentina work accidents cost ARS 500 billion 2022
24
Turkey SGK paid 50 billion TL compensation 2022
25
Poland PIP accidents cost PLN 10 billion 2022
26
US employer costs for injuries $171 billion workers' comp 2022
Interpretation
Costs Interpretation
Across regions, workplace accidents create massive recurring costs, with global occupational accidents alone reaching about 4% of GDP or $3 trillion annually.
03 · Category
Fatalities29 stats
01
In 2022, the United States recorded 5,486 fatal work injuries, marking a 5.7% increase from 5,190 in 2021
02
Globally, 340 million workers suffer occupational accidents annually, resulting in 299 million non-fatal injuries
03
In the EU-27, 3,347 fatal accidents at work occurred in 2021, with a rate of 1.6 per 100,000 workers
04
UK workplace fatalities totaled 135 in 2022/23, a rate of 0.38 per 100,000 workers, down from 142 the previous year
05
In Australia, 29 workers died in the mining industry from 2019-2023, averaging 5.8 per year
06
Canada reported 919 work-related fatalities in 2021, with a rate of 5.5 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers
07
In India, over 48,000 workers died in workplace accidents in 2020, per official estimates
08
Brazil saw 1,133 fatal work accidents in 2021, primarily in construction and manufacturing
09
South Africa recorded 2,296 occupational fatalities in 2021/22, with mining accounting for 49%
10
Japan had 822 work-related deaths in 2022, a decrease of 8.1% from 2021
11
In 2022, US construction sector had 1,056 fatalities, 20.7% of total
12
Transportation incidents caused 1,500 US workplace fatalities in 2022, 27% of total
13
Falls to lower level resulted in 1,056 US fatal injuries in 2022, up 11%
14
China reported 27,438 work-related deaths in 2022, down 10.5% from prior year
15
Germany had 918 fatal accidents in 2022, rate of 1.9 per 100,000 insured
16
In 2021, over 2.78 million workers died globally from work-related injuries and diseases
17
Mexico recorded 892 fatal workplace accidents in 2022
18
France saw 1,038 work fatalities in 2022, rate 3.7 per 100,000
19
Russia had 1,606 occupational fatalities in 2022
20
In 2022, US private industry fatality rate was 3.7 per 100,000 FTE
21
Italy reported 1,016 fatal work accidents in 2022
22
Spain had 627 work fatalities in 2022, down 5.7%
23
In 2023 Q1, US saw 1,282 fatal work injuries
24
South Korea recorded 882 industrial fatalities in 2022
25
Argentina reported 489 fatal work accidents in 2022
26
In 2022, US Hispanic workers had 1,000 fatal injuries, rate 4.3 per 100,000
27
Turkey had 1,745 work-related deaths in 2022
28
Poland saw 284 fatal accidents in 2022
29
In 2022, US agriculture had 573 fatalities
Interpretation
Fatalities Interpretation
Fatal workplace harm is not shrinking, as the United States rose to 5,486 work-related fatalities in 2022 from 5,190 in 2021, underscoring that fatalities remain a persistent and growing risk even as total accident counts worldwide reach 299 million non-fatal injuries annually.
More related reading
04 · Category
Industries26 stats
01
Construction accounted for 20.8% of US fatal injuries in 2022
02
US healthcare/support: 5.9% of fatalities but 17% nonfatal cases 2022
03
Globally, agriculture 27% of fatal injuries
04
EU construction: 25.5% non-fatal accidents 2021
05
UK construction: 18% fatalities, 27,000 injuries 2021/22
06
Australia mining: 8% serious claims but high severity
07
Canada construction: 25% fatalities 2021
08
Germany manufacturing: 30% non-fatal accidents
09
Japan construction: 32% fatalities 2022
10
Brazil construction: 33% fatal accidents 2021
11
South Africa mining: 49% fatalities 2021/22
12
China manufacturing: 40% severe injuries 2022
13
France services: 50% non-fatal accidents 2022
14
US agriculture/forestry/fishing: 22.3 fatalities per 100k highest rate 2022
15
Italy construction: 30.8% fatal accidents 2022
16
Spain manufacturing: 20% non-fatal 2022
17
Russia transport: 25% fatalities 2022
18
Mexico agriculture: 22% fatal accidents 2022
19
South Korea manufacturing: 45% injuries 2022
20
US trade/transport/utilities: 1,349 fatalities 24.6% total 2022
21
UK manufacturing: 15% fatalities 2021/22
22
Global mining: 5% workforce but 8% fatalities
23
Argentina construction: 25% non-fatal injuries
24
Turkey manufacturing: 28% accidents 2022
25
Poland construction: 35% fatal accidents 2022
26
US oil/gas extraction: 28.5 fatalities per 100k 2022 highest
Interpretation
Industries Interpretation
Across major industries, construction and agriculture stand out as the most consistent safety hotspots, with construction responsible for 20.8% of US fatal injuries in 2022 and 25.5% of EU non fatal accidents in 2021 while agriculture accounts for 27% of global fatal injuries.
05 · Category
Injuries29 stats
01
US nonfatal injuries totaled 2.6 million in 2022, rate 2.7 cases per 100 FTE
02
EU-27 reported 2.6 million non-fatal accidents in 2021, rate 1,522 per 100,000 workers
03
UK had 565,000 non-fatal injuries in 2021/22, 1.3 per 100 workers
04
Australia saw 122,000 serious claims in 2021/22, rate 11.2 per 1,000 workers
05
Canada reported 226,000 accepted time-loss claims in 2021
06
In 2022, US private industry had 900,380 days away from work cases
07
Globally, 374 million non-fatal work injuries annually requiring days off
08
Germany recorded 773,000 non-fatal accidents in 2022, rate 1,800 per 100,000
09
Japan had 114,637 occupational injuries in 2022, down 7.2%
10
Brazil reported 555,000 non-fatal work accidents in 2021
11
South Africa had 110,000 non-fatal injuries in 2021/22
12
China saw 183,000 severe non-fatal injuries in 2022
13
France recorded 373,000 non-fatal accidents in 2022
14
In 2022, US manufacturing had 326,950 nonfatal cases, rate 3.4 per 100 FTE
15
Italy had 456,000 non-fatal work accidents in 2022
16
Spain reported 526,000 non-fatal accidents in 2022
17
Russia saw 285,000 registered non-fatal injuries in 2022
18
In 2022, US healthcare had 450,270 days-away cases, highest sector
19
Mexico had 244,000 non-fatal work injuries in 2022
20
South Korea reported 79,000 industrial injuries in 2022
21
US slips, trips, falls caused 805,000 nonfatal injuries in 2022
22
In construction, US had 150,360 nonfatal cases in 2022, rate 2.0 per 100
23
UK manufacturing injuries: 23,000 in 2021/22, rate 2.6 per 100k
24
Overexertion caused 267,250 US private industry cases in 2022
25
Contact with objects/equipment led to 18% of EU non-fatal accidents
26
In 2022, US women had higher nonfatal injury rate at 2.9 vs 2.6 for men per 100 FTE
27
Argentina reported 300,000 non-fatal accidents in 2022
28
Turkey had 208,000 work injuries in 2022
29
Poland saw 70,000 non-fatal accidents in 2022
Interpretation
Injuries Interpretation
Across major regions, workplace injuries remain a large and persistent burden, with the US alone reporting 2.6 million nonfatal injuries in 2022 and 900,380 days away from work in private industry, underscoring that harm resulting in time lost is still a key injury trend.
report visual · Comparison
Workplace accidents: fatalities are trending up/down across recent years
Recent reports show year-over-year movement in fatal work injuries, highlighting the need to sustain prevention efforts.
In 2022, US construction sector had 1,056 fatalities, 20.7% of total20.7%
China reported 27,438 work-related deaths in 2022, down 10.5% from prior year10.5%
Japan had 822 work-related deaths in 2022, a decrease of 8.1% from 20218.1%
In 2022, the United States recorded 5,486 fatal work injuries, marking a 5.7% increase from 5,190 in 20215.7%
Spain had 627 work fatalities in 2022, down 5.7%5.7%
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Emilia Santos. (2026, February 13). Workplace Accident Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/workplace-accident-statistics
MLA
Emilia Santos. "Workplace Accident Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/workplace-accident-statistics.
Chicago
Emilia Santos. 2026. "Workplace Accident Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/workplace-accident-statistics.
Sources & references
29 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level