Some numbers are hard to look at. The fatality rate is one of them. Behind every count is a person and a family. But the number matters, because it shows whether the most serious outcome of unsafe work is getting rarer or not.
Enter work-related deaths and the number of workers below to get your fatality rate.
What is the fatality rate?
The fatality rate shows how many work-related deaths happen for every 100,000 workers. It lets you compare industries, regions and years even when the number of workers is very different.
The fatality rate formula
Fatality rate = (Number of work-related fatalities x 100,000) / Number of workers
It uses the number of workers, not hours. Make sure your worker count is a fair average for the period, for example the average number employed during the year.
Worked example
A region has 80,000 workers in the construction sector. In one year there were 2 work-related deaths.
Fatality rate = (2 x 100,000) / 80,000 = 200,000 / 80,000 = 2.5
That is 2.5 deaths per 100,000 workers. If another year has 1 death and 82,000 workers, the rate is 1.22.
The problem with small numbers
A single death can change a small company’s rate from zero to a very large number. For one site with 200 workers, one fatality gives a rate of 500 per 100,000. That does not mean the work is 100 times more dangerous than a larger industry with a rate of 5. It means the numbers are too small for the rate to be stable.
For small groups, use the plain count, look at several years together, and pay close attention to near misses and serious potential incidents.
Workers or hours?
Some industries and countries measure fatal accidents per hours worked instead, for example per 100 million hours. That helps when people work very different hours, because a full-time worker is exposed for longer than a part-timer. If you need an hours-based figure, follow the method your regulator or industry body uses.
What to include
- Deaths that are the direct result of a work-related accident or illness
- Employees and, where your rules say so, contractors
- Deaths in the same period you are measuring
Check your national rules about what counts, such as deaths on the way to work or deaths that happen some time after an accident.
How to use the result
A fatality rate is a signal, not a plan. Use it to ask hard questions: which tasks carry the highest chance of death, such as work at height, vehicles, confined spaces, electricity and lifting? Do we have strong controls for them? Our risk matrix calculator can help you rank those tasks.
Also remember the accident pyramid: serious events are often preceded by near misses. Reporting those is the cheapest way to stop a fatality.
Common mistakes
- Using the total headcount of the company when only part of it faces the risk
- Comparing a small site with a national figure
- Mixing rates per workers and per hours
- Leaving out contractors or temporary workers
How to report the number responsibly
A fatality rate should never be treated as just a statistic. When you present it, state the period, the group of workers, and the definition used. Avoid comparisons that make a loss of life sound like a score. The best use of this figure is to start a serious conversation about what controls are missing.
Step by step
- Count the work-related deaths in the group and period.
- Find the average number of workers in the same group.
- Multiply the deaths by 100,000.
- Divide by the number of workers.
- Report the rate with the period and the group, such as construction workers in 2025.
Learning from serious incidents
After any fatal or life-changing event, the most valuable thing a company can do is learn honestly. Investigate beyond the last person who touched the task. Look at planning, supervision, equipment and pressure on the schedule. Share the lessons widely, including with other sites. Rates tell you how often it happens. Investigations tell you how to stop it.
Frequently asked questions
What does the fatality rate mean?
It is the number of work-related deaths for every 100,000 workers in a period, usually a year.
Why 100,000 workers?
It is a common base that makes the numbers easy to compare across groups of different sizes.
Can a company have a fatality rate?
Yes, but with a small workforce the rate jumps a lot after one event. Counts are often more useful for small companies.
Is this the same as the fatal accident rate?
Not always. The fatal accident rate often uses hours worked as the base, while this one uses number of workers.
Where can I find national figures?
Your country’s labour or safety regulator and the International Labour Organization publish figures. Always check the definition they use.
Learn this properly
Preventing fatal accidents is at the heart of NEBOSH, IOSH and OSHA training. ISH Institutes teaches these courses in Peshawar. Chat with us on WhatsApp and we will help you pick the right course.