Botswana’s road safety record over the past three years presents a complex picture of rising traffic violations but reduced fatalities from 396 to 327.
An analysis of the three year period from Botswana Police Service (BPS) 2024 Annual Report revealed that, in 2023, Botswana recorded 15,331 road traffic accidents, with 396 fatalities, marking one of the deadliest years on record. The figures reflected increasing vehicle ownership, high mobility along major corridors and continued challenges with driver behaviour, particularly speeding and drunk driving.
The trend shifted in 2024, when road accidents rose sharply to 16,722, a 9.1 percent increase year-on-year. Despite the rise in crashes, fatalities declined by 12.6 percent, dropping to 346 deaths. Authorities attributed the reduction to strengthened traffic enforcement, faster emergency response times and sustained public education campaigns targeting high-risk behaviour.
In 2025, according to the Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Fund, Botswana recorded a further reduction of 19 fatalities between 2024 and 2025, bringing the national death toll to 327. This indicates continued progress in reducing loss of life overall.
In 2023 and 2024, the South Central Division consistently recorded the highest number of accidents, driven by dense urban settlements and heavy traffic along the A1 corridor. In 2024 alone, the region accounted for 9,511 accidents, or 56.9 percent of all crashes nationally, though fatalities did not rise proportionally.
The North Central Division remained a concern across all three years due to its higher proportion of fatal accidents, often linked to long-distance travel, excessive speed and head-on collisions.
The North West Division, including Ngamiland, stood out in 2024 as the safest region statistically, recording 1,124 accidents (6.7 percent of the national total) and 23 fatalities, largely due to lower traffic density and effective corridor policing.
However, during the January and September 2025 period Botswana Police Service (BPS) Traffic Branch figures revealed emerging pressure points. Between January and September 2025, 198 people died in road crashes, representing a 9.4 percent increase compared to 181 deaths during the same period in 2024.
The Maun policing area had recorded the steepest rise in fatalities nationally, with 25 deaths, compared to 11 during the same period in 2024, representing a 127 percent increase.
Pedestrians (9 deaths) and passengers (11 deaths) accounted for the majority of the fatalities, while drivers accounted for five. Men remained disproportionately affected, making up 72 percent of those killed.
Within the Maun coverage zone, Maun town (9 fatalities) and Boteti (7) together accounted for nearly two-thirds of deaths, followed by Sehithwa (5), Chobe (2) and Gumare (2). March and June emerged as the deadliest months in the region.
Nationally in 2025, the South Central region continued to record the highest number of crashes (190 cases), followed by North Central (29) and North West (20). A particularly deadly week between 17 and 24 August 2025 claimed nine lives, with head-on collisions identified as the dominant crash type.
The risks intensified during the 2025 festive period. Between 18 and 28 December, 26 people died in 14 fatal accidents, compared to 19 fatalities from 18 accidents during the same period in 2024. Several crashes involved multiple fatalities, including incidents along the A10 near Ramaphatle, A35 near Nokaneng, and the A1 near Pallaroad.
While the Maun area recorded no fatal accidents during festive season.
Across 2023 to 2025, Botswana has made measurable national gains in reducing fatalities, particularly between 2023 and 2024, and again into 2025. Yet rising accidents, seasonal spikes and sharp regional increases especially in Maun reveal that progress remains fragile.
