Switzerland: High incidence rate of accidents compared to the EU

In total, employed and job-seeking persons reported more than 800,000 accidents last year. According to Suva, however, the number of accidents reported fell by 7.6 percent compared with the previous year, due in particular to the pandemic. The number of accidents involving job seekers, on the other hand, has increased, as the number of unemployed has also risen.

According to Suva, occupational accidents decreased by 5.2 percent, while an overall decrease of 9.1 percent was associated with recreational accidents. Suva attributes this decrease to lower levels of sporting activity during the pandemic.

Switzerland compared to the EU average

Currently, European accident statistics also provide an insight into the development of fatal and non-fatal accidents at work in the EU countries - with the aim of comparing the effect and efficiency of measures to improve safety and health at work across countries.

Employers in EU countries are obliged to keep a list of all occupational accidents that resulted in employees being absent from work for more than three days. In Switzerland, the accident insurance collection point (SSUV) has been participating in the data delivery since 2004.

A total of 2.5 million occupational accidents were reported in the EU countries for 2018. France recorded over 3400 accidents per 100,000 workers, followed by Portugal and Spain with 3300 accidents per 100,000 workers each. The incidence rate for the EU average is 1600 occupational accidents per 100,000 workers.

Striking: In Switzerland, the incidence rate is almost twice as high as in the EU. Suva suspects a very high reporting rate of non-fatal accidents in Switzerland. In terms of fatal occupational accidents, nearly 3200 such accidents were reported in the EU in 2018, corresponding to a standardized incidence rate of 2.1 per 100,000 workers. Here, Switzerland is slightly below the EU average with around 2.0 fatal accidents per 100,000 employees.

Source: Suva