Insurers recorded 4,667 accidents in 2025, but their data only covers insured vehicles. Meanwhile, the WHO estimated the number of road deaths in 2021 at over 6,500.
Madagascar’s roads are the scene of thousands of traffic accidents every year. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated the number of deaths on the country’s roads in 2021 at 6,512, a rate of 22.5 per 100,000 inhabitants. However, this estimate covers a different year and scope than the local data presented here.
According to the database of the Professional Association of Insurance Companies in Madagascar (APEAM), cited by the Land Transport Agency (ATT), 4,667 traffic accidents were recorded in 2025 nationwide. In the first half of this year, the trend is slightly downward: 2,141 cases were counted in 2026, compared to 2,281 in the same period in 2025, according to the same source. In terms of human toll, 2025 ended with 119 deaths and 1,119 injuries, again according to APEAM. For the first six months of 2026, the toll stands at 44 deaths and 558 injuries. These data only concern insured vehicles; therefore, they do not measure all accidents and their victims.
The streets of the capital are also the scene of fatal accidents. Between January and May 2026, the roads of Antananarivo claimed the lives of more than forty people, according to the national police. The annual toll for 2025 was between sixty and seventy-five deaths, according to the same source. From September 27 to October 6, 2026, the central police station of Tsaralalàna also recorded 20 traffic accidents: 11 resulted in 22 injuries and 9 caused only material damage. No deaths were reported during this period.
According to the ATT, the APEAM database from December 2025 shows a strong presence of private cars (50.71%) and public transport vehicles (17.22%) among the vehicles involved in accidents. In June 2026, the same trend was confirmed: private vehicles accounted for 45.70% of vehicles involved in accidents, and public transport vehicles for 16.95%.
“The overrepresentation of accidents involving private cars compared to public transport vehicles is mainly explained by human, structural, and regulatory factors,” according to APEAM. The association explains this gap notably by the training and professionalism of the drivers. Public transport drivers undergo rigorous initial training, regular medical examinations, and hold a professional license. For private drivers, the B license is obtained only once in a lifetime. Their skills, reflexes, and health are no longer checked thereafter, despite aging or bad habits.
Human factors occupy an important place among the causes of accidents cited by the organizations interviewed. The national police mention recklessness and non-compliance with regulations by drivers: speeding, dangerous overtaking, drunk driving, fatigue, and economic pressure on long-distance drivers. Added to this are the degradation of roads and insufficient infrastructure.
“The road network is generally in poor condition, but the situation remains bearable for the moment thanks to the ongoing rehabilitation work,” believes Claude Richard Rakotondrandria, Vice-President of the Association of Truck Transporters. For other transporters, such as Mario Randria, president of a transport cooperative, the degraded state of the roads is not the cause of the accidents. “Vehicles drive slowly over potholes. Excessive speed remains the main cause,” he believes. The problem is aggravated by the high power of most vehicles circulating in Madagascar, including heavy goods vehicles.
In 2026, numerous cases of rear-end collisions and failure to respect fixed and/or mobile signage at intersections were noted, according to APEAM.
The poor condition and overloading of transport vehicles are also to blame. According to figures from the General Directorate of Road Safety dating from 2019 and reported by the written press, 412 vehicles were declared unfit due to technical problems during a control operation conducted from April 16 to 30, 2019. Transporters reply that they regularly maintain their vehicles and denounce the quality of parts sold on the market. “These fragile parts are sources of accidents. A transmission I bought broke after a few months, in the middle of the road. Fortunately, there were no other vehicles, otherwise, it would have been fatal,” testifies Njaka Rabenirina, a transporter.
Regarding location, according to APEAM data, most bodily and fatal accidents in 2025 were concentrated on national roads, notably the RN12 (Vohipeno), the RN7, and the RN4 (Maevatanana). The June 2026 database highlights straight lines (57.25%) and street intersections (15.97%). It also mentions the RN2, parking areas, Ankorondrano, and the RN7 among the accident locations.
Captured & Published at: 2026-10-15 05:53:47 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://www.lexpress.mg/2026/10/insecurite-routiere-des-milliers.html