Safety improved across the continent but fatality risk rose as global aviation accidents decline…
Africa recorded the highest aviation accident rate globally in 2025 despite some improvements in safety performance during the year, according to the 2025 Annual Safety Report released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The report revealed that the continent recorded seven aviation accidents in 2025, resulting in an all-accident rate of 7.86 per million sectors. Although this marks an improvement from the 12.13 per million sectors recorded in 2024, Africa still maintained the highest accident rate among all regions worldwide.
According to IATA, about 71 percent of accidents involving Africa-based airlines occurred with turboprop aircraft, highlighting persistent operational and infrastructure challenges affecting this category of aircraft commonly used across the continent.
The association also noted that Africa accounts for the majority of “other end state” incidents reported globally since 2018. These types of accidents refer to situations where the exact nature of the incident cannot be clearly classified due to insufficient data or incomplete accident investigations.
The trend, IATA said, underscores the need for stronger compliance with accident investigation standards under the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, particularly Annex 13, which governs aircraft accident and incident investigations.
While overall accident rates declined in Africa during 2025, fatality risks increased within the same period.
“Africa recorded seven accidents in 2025, with the accident rate falling to 7.86 per million sectors, lower than the 12.13 recorded in 2024 and below the five-year average of 9.37,” the report stated.
“However, fatality risk rose from zero in 2024 to 2.19 in 2025, reflecting fatal incidents recorded during the year.”
The report identified runway excursions and “other end state” events as the most common accident types in the region.
Globally, aviation safety performance improved slightly in 2025 as the industry recorded fewer accidents despite handling more flights throughout the year.
IATA reported that the global all-accident rate improved to 1.32 per million flights in 2025, compared with 1.42 per million flights in 2024.
The aviation industry recorded 51 accidents across 38.7 million flights in 2025, down from 54 accidents across 37.9 million flights in the previous year.
However, fatal accidents increased slightly to eight in 2025 from seven in 2024, while the number of on-board fatalities rose to 394, compared with 244 deaths recorded in the previous year.
Globally, the most common accident categories included tail strikes, landing gear damage, runway excursions, and ground handling incidents, suggesting that a large number of aviation accidents occur during take-off, landing, or while aircraft are on the ground.
Despite the rise in fatalities, IATA maintained that aviation remains the safest form of long-distance travel, noting that the industry’s long-term safety performance has steadily improved over the past decade.
Safety performance also varied significantly across regions in 2025, with several regions recording improvements in their accident rates.
The Asia-Pacific region recorded six accidents during the year, with its accident rate improving to 0.91 per million sectors, down from 1.08 in 2024 and below the five-year average of 0.99.
Europe recorded 11 accidents, with the accident rate declining to 1.30 per million sectors from 1.48 in 2024. The region recorded no fatalities during the year.
North America recorded the highest number of accidents globally at 16, pushing its accident rate to 1.68 per million sectors. This was higher than the 1.49 recorded in 2024 and also above the five-year regional average of 1.33.
The Latin America and Caribbean region recorded five accidents in 2025, with the accident rate improving slightly to 1.77 per million sectors compared with 1.84 in the previous year.
Meanwhile, the Middle East and North Africa region recorded only one accident in 2025, achieving an improved accident rate of 0.53 per million sectors.
North Asia also recorded just one accident during the year, a non-fatal tail strike incident leaving the region’s accident rate unchanged at 0.16 per million sectors.
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