Occupational safety and health in Europe - state and trends 2023 
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work – EU-OSHA 147 
 
 
147 In 2019, there were 3.141 million non-fatal accidents that resulted in at least four calendar days of absence 
from work and 3,408 fatal accidents in the EU27, a ratio of approximately 922 non-fatal accidents for every fatal 
accident, here  
148 Kurppa, 2015: Severe Under-reporting of Work Injuries in Many Countries of the Baltic Sea Region: An 
exploratory semi-quantitative study – ‘What goes unreported goes unfixed’ (p. 20 ff). 
149 Eurostat: Non-fatal accidents at work by NACE Rev. 2 activity and sex; Eurostat: Fatal Accidents at work by 
NACE Rev. 2 activity 
150 Detailed studies from hospitals in Denmark show that even a large share of serious work accidents (25%) 
resulting in amputations and fractions are not registered, see: LO Denmark, 2012: Underrapportering af 
arbejdsulykker Table 14; and the Danish Working Environment Authority published a report concluding a total of 
50% in underreporting, here 
151 Kurppa, 2015: Severe Under-reporting of Work Injuries in Many Countries of the Baltic Sea Region: An 
exploratory semi-quantitative study – ‘What goes unreported goes unfixed’ (p. 20ff). 
152 LFS Ad hoc module: Accidents at work and other work-related health problems (2020, 2013 and 2007)  
153 Eurostat: EU labour force survey 2020 module on accidents at work and other work-related health problems : 
assessment report : 2021 edition. The exact question is (p. 47): ‘Thinking of the year before [last day of reference 
week], have you had any accident at work? Accidents outside working hours and accidents during the journey 
from home to work or from work to home are excluded. However, accidents during a journey in the course of work 
are included.’ 
154 Eurostat, Statistics in focus, Theme 3 – 16/2001: Accidents at work in the EU 1998-1999, here 
155 ISCO-Groups: 1. Managers, 2. Professionals, 3. Technicians and Associate Professionals, 4. Clerical Support 
Workers, 5. Services and Sales Workers, 6. Skilled Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Workers, 7. Craft and 
Related Trades Workers, 8. Plant and Machine Operators and Assemblers, 9. Elementary Occupations, 0. Armed 
Forces Occupations. 
156 Eurostat: Persons reporting an accident at work by sex, age and occupation  
157 Eurostat, 2021: Self-reported accidents at work - key statistics 
158 Ibid. 
159 Agilis, 2015: Final statistical report on the quality assessment and statistical analysis of the 2013 Labour Force 
Survey ad hoc module (p. 45) 
160 Eurostat, 2013: European Statistics on Accidents at Work (ESAW) - Summary methodology - 2013 edition 
(p. 6). 
161 Fatal work accidents are seen as a more reliable data source than non-fatal accidents. 
162 Eurostat: Fatal accidents at work by NACE Rev. 2 activity, Filter: Incidence rate. 
163 The OSH Barometer shows the ESAW data from Eurostat’s Fatal accidents in a column diagram showing the 
incidence rate per 100,000 workers for two periods, here  
164 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic And 
Social Committee and the Committee of Regions on the practical implementation of the provisions of the Health 
and Safety at Work Directives 89/391 (Framework), 89/654 (Workplaces), 89/655 (Work Equipment), 89/656 
(Personal Protective Equipment), 90/269 (Manual Handling of Loads) and 90/270 (Display Screen Equipment), 
here (p. 15). 
165 European Commission, 2009: Causes and circumstances of accidents at work in the EU (p. 101 and Table 
A1.6. p. 130). 
166 ESAW Data for 2019: Eurostat, Accidents at work by sex, age and severity (NACE Rev. 2 activity A, C-N).  
167 In publications about this topic, we find similar coefficients. Eurogip calculates for France (2016) 514 fatal 
accidents and 34,202 cases with permanent disability, this is a coefficient of 66 (Eurogip, 2018: Statistical review