The number of reportable occupational accidents in Germany fell in 2025, while the number of commuting accidents rose, according to annual figures published by the Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung (DGUV), Germany’s umbrella organisation for statutory accident insurers, on 22 September 2026.
Fewer occupational accidents, lower accident risk
In 2025, the DGUV recorded 689,922 reportable occupational accidents among employees and self-employed persons, 3.1 percent fewer than in 2024. The accident frequency rate came to 19.9 reportable accidents per 1,000 full-time equivalents, a decrease of 3.2 percent compared with the previous year. These occupational accidents claimed the lives of 299 insured persons. The most common cause of accidents was loss of control over tools or objects, accounting for 171,638 cases, followed by trips, slips and falls. “Prevention pays off! The occupational accident figures for 2025 prove this once again,” said Stephan Fasshauer, DGUV Director General, in the press release.
More commuting accidents
Against the decline in occupational accidents stands a rise in commuting accidents: accidents that befall employees on their way to and from work. The number of reportable commuting accidents rose by 1.0 percent in 2025 to 170,306. These claimed the lives of 231 insured persons. The DGUV’s press release gives no reason for this increase.
Occupational diseases: fewer recognitions, similar number of reports
The number of reports of suspected occupational disease remained largely stable in 2025 at 91,250, a rise of 0.6 percent compared with 2024. The number of occupational diseases actually recognised, however, fell by 9.3 percent to 24,340 cases. Noise-induced hearing loss remained the most common recognised occupational disease with 9,819 cases, followed by UV-induced skin cancer (3,899 cases) and infectious diseases (2,656 cases, mainly COVID-19). In 2025, 1,772 people died as a result of a recognised occupational disease, 6.1 percent fewer than in 2024.
Contributions remain stable
Despite the fluctuating accident figures, the average contribution employers pay to Germany’s commercial trade associations (gewerbliche Berufsgenossenschaften) remained nearly unchanged, at 1.08 euros per 100 euros of payroll, against 1.09 euros a year earlier. The total amount the trade associations apportioned to employers for 2025 (Umlagesoll) rose by around 2.7 percent to 14.7 billion euros.
Context
No EU-wide figures for 2025 are yet available for comparison. According to the most recent Eurostat data, 3,367 people died in workplace accidents in the European Union in 2024, 1.4 percent more than in 2023. At the same time, the number of non-fatal workplace accidents in the EU fell by 1.5 percent to around 2.78 million. Almost a quarter (23.0 percent) of all fatal workplace accidents in the EU in 2024 occurred in the construction sector, the sector with the most fatal accidents. Germany’s decline fits the EU trend of fewer non-fatal accidents, although the Eurostat figures relate to 2024 and are therefore not directly comparable.
Source: Unfallrisiko bei der Arbeit 2025 erneut gesunken (DGUV press release), 22 September 2026
Additional research: Arbeitsunfälle 2025 auf neuem Tiefstand – jedoch mehr Wegeunfälle (Haufe), 25 September 2026; Accidents at work statistics – Eurostat, data September 2026
