50 Walking Injury Statistics

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These walking injury figures cover the measurement periods and populations identified in the available source material. Estimates, surveys and forecasts retain their reported scope.

Key Walking Injury Statistics

The main findings are:

  • An estimated 684,000 fatal falls occur worldwide each year, making falls the second leading cause of unintentional injury death after road-traffic injuries (current WHO estimate accessed 2026).
  • In 2018, 27.5% of U.S. adults aged 65 and older reported at least one fall in the prior year (United States, adults aged 65+).
  • In 2018, 29.5% of older U.S. adults living in rural areas reported a fall, compared with 27.0% in urban areas (United States, adults aged 65+, rural versus urban).
  • In 2020, 14 million U.S. adults aged 65 and older, or 27.6%, reported a fall during the prior year (United States, adults aged 65+).
  • The 2023 U.S. pedestrian and pedal-cyclist injury-death rate was 2.9 per 100,000, down from 3.0 in 2022 (2022–2023).
  • In a 12-month Canadian intervention follow-up, 23 of 167 previously sedentary community-dwelling older adults reported an exercise-related injury, an incidence of 14% (12-month follow-up reported 2013; Canada, adults aged 61–88).
  • More than 80% of global fall-related fatalities occur in low- and middle-income countries (current WHO estimate accessed 2026).
  • In 2018, 10.2% of U.S. adults aged 65 and older reported at least one fall-related injury in the prior year (United States, adults aged 65+).
  • In 2018, older U.S. adults reporting any physical activity in the prior month had a 24.9% fall prevalence, versus 33.1% among those reporting none (United States, adults aged 65+).
  • In 2021, 38,742 U.S. adults aged 65 and older died from unintentional falls, a rate of 78.0 per 100,000 (United States, adults aged 65+).
  • In 2023, the combined pedestrian and pedal-cyclist injury-death rate was 2.0 per 100,000 in the Midwest and 1.9 in the Northeast (United States, Midwest and Northeast).
  • In that Canadian older-adult exercise study, 41% of reported injuries involved the lower extremity (12-month follow-up reported 2013; Canada, study participants).
  • The Western Pacific and South-East Asia regions together account for 60% of global fall-related deaths (current WHO estimate accessed 2026; WHO regions).
  • Older U.S. adults reported an average of 714 falls per 1,000 adults in the preceding year in 2018 (United States, adults aged 65+).
  • Older U.S. adults reporting difficulty walking or climbing stairs had a 46.3% fall prevalence in 2018, versus 20.4% without that difficulty (United States, adults aged 65+).

Contents

How large is the walking-injury burden globally and in the United States?

  • An estimated 684,000 fatal falls occur worldwide each year, making falls the second leading cause of unintentional injury death after road-traffic injuries (current WHO estimate accessed 2026). (Falls)
  • More than 80% of global fall-related fatalities occur in low- and middle-income countries (current WHO estimate accessed 2026). (Falls)
  • The Western Pacific and South-East Asia regions together account for 60% of global fall-related deaths (current WHO estimate accessed 2026; WHO regions). (Falls)
  • In 2018, U.S. adults aged 65 and older generated an estimated 3 million emergency-department visits for fall-related injuries (United States, adults aged 65+). (Trends in Nonfatal Falls and…)
  • In 2018, more than 950,000 U.S. adults aged 65 and older were hospitalized or transferred for fall-related injuries (United States, adults aged 65+). (Trends in Nonfatal Falls and…)
  • Approximately 32,000 U.S. adults aged 65 and older died from fall-related injuries in 2018 (United States, adults aged 65+). (Trends in Nonfatal Falls and…)
  • The 2018 U.S. BRFSS analysis estimated about 8.4 million fall-related injuries among adults aged 65 and older (United States, adults aged 65+). (Trends in Nonfatal Falls and…)
  • The U.S. age-adjusted pedestrian and pedal-cyclist injury-death rate rose from 2.1 per 100,000 in 2013 to 2.9 per 100,000 in 2023 (2013–2023). (Trends in Pedestrian and Pedal…)

See notes for source limitations.

Self-reported; injury required activity restriction for at least a day or seeing a doctor.

Combined measure includes pedestrian injuries while walking, running, standing or otherwise on foot.

  • In 2018, 27.5% of U.S. adults aged 65 and older reported at least one fall in the prior year (United States, adults aged 65+). (Trends in Nonfatal Falls and…)
  • In 2018, 10.2% of U.S. adults aged 65 and older reported at least one fall-related injury in the prior year (United States, adults aged 65+). (Trends in Nonfatal Falls and…)
  • Older U.S. adults reported an average of 714 falls per 1,000 adults in the preceding year in 2018 (United States, adults aged 65+). (Trends in Nonfatal Falls and…)
  • Older U.S. adults reported an average of 170 fall-related injuries per 1,000 adults in the preceding year in 2018 (United States, adults aged 65+). (Trends in Nonfatal Falls and…)
  • Among U.S. adults aged 85 and older, 33.8% reported a fall in 2018 (United States, adults aged 85+). (Trends in Nonfatal Falls and…)
  • Among U.S. adults aged 85 and older, 13.9% reported a fall-related injury in 2018 (United States, adults aged 85+). (Trends in Nonfatal Falls and…)
  • In 2018, 29.1% of older U.S. women reported at least one fall, compared with 25.5% of older U.S. men (United States, adults aged 65+, by sex). (Trends in Nonfatal Falls and…)
  • In 2018, the self-reported fall rate was 735 per 1,000 older U.S. men and 695 per 1,000 older U.S. women (United States, adults aged 65+, by sex). (Trends in Nonfatal Falls and…)

See notes for source limitations.

BRFSS self-report; injury required activity restriction or medical attention.

Which characteristics are associated with higher fall-injury prevalence?

  • In 2018, 29.5% of older U.S. adults living in rural areas reported a fall, compared with 27.0% in urban areas (United States, adults aged 65+, rural versus urban). (Trends in Nonfatal Falls and…)
  • In 2018, older U.S. adults reporting any physical activity in the prior month had a 24.9% fall prevalence, versus 33.1% among those reporting none (United States, adults aged 65+). (Trends in Nonfatal Falls and…)
  • Older U.S. adults reporting difficulty walking or climbing stairs had a 46.3% fall prevalence in 2018, versus 20.4% without that difficulty (United States, adults aged 65+). (Trends in Nonfatal Falls and…)
  • Older U.S. adults reporting difficulty walking or climbing stairs had a 20.3% fall-injury prevalence in 2018, versus 6.4% without that difficulty (United States, adults aged 65+). (Trends in Nonfatal Falls and…)
  • Older U.S. adults reporting poor health had a 48.1% fall prevalence in 2018, compared with 16.4% among those reporting excellent health (United States, adults aged 65+). (Trends in Nonfatal Falls and…)
  • Older U.S. adults reporting poor health had a 24.9% fall-injury prevalence in 2018, compared with 5.4% among those reporting excellent health (United States, adults aged 65+). (Trends in Nonfatal Falls and…)
  • In 2018, 53.0% of older U.S. adults who had difficulty performing errands alone reported a fall, versus 24.6% without that difficulty (United States, adults aged 65+). (Trends in Nonfatal Falls and…)
  • In 2018, 58.7% of older U.S. adults who had difficulty dressing or bathing reported a fall, versus 25.6% without that difficulty (United States, adults aged 65+). (Trends in Nonfatal Falls and…)

Descriptive association.

Descriptive association, not causal.

Descriptive association; BRFSS injury definition.

What are the emergency-care, hospitalization, mortality and cost outcomes?

See notes for source limitations.

Denominator includes falls, crashes, opioid overdoses and self-harm.

  • The 2023 U.S. pedestrian and pedal-cyclist injury-death rate was 2.9 per 100,000, down from 3.0 in 2022 (2022–2023). (Trends in Pedestrian and Pedal…)
  • In 2023, the combined pedestrian and pedal-cyclist injury-death rate was 2.0 per 100,000 in the Midwest and 1.9 in the Northeast (United States, Midwest and Northeast). (Trends in Pedestrian and Pedal…)
  • In 2023, the combined pedestrian and pedal-cyclist injury-death rate was 3.5 per 100,000 in the South and 3.6 in the West (United States, South and West). (Trends in Pedestrian and Pedal…)
  • The 2023 female pedestrian and pedal-cyclist injury-death rate was 2.0 per 100,000 at ages 25–44 and 2.0 at ages 45–64 (United States, females by age). (Trends in Pedestrian and Pedal…)
  • The 2023 male pedestrian and pedal-cyclist injury-death rate was 5.4 per 100,000 at ages 25–44 and 6.4 at ages 45–64 (United States, males by age). (Trends in Pedestrian and Pedal…)
  • The 2023 male pedestrian and pedal-cyclist injury-death rate was 6.5 per 100,000 at ages 65 and older (United States, males aged 65+). (Trends in Pedestrian and Pedal…)
  • CDC reported more than 8,000 pedestrians killed in U.S. motor-vehicle crashes and an estimated 140,000 pedestrian ED visits for nonfatal crash injuries in 2022 (United States pedestrians). (Pedestrian Safety)

Combined pedestrian and pedal-cyclist measure.

See notes for source limitations.

What is known about injuries during walking as exercise?

  • In a 12-month Canadian intervention follow-up, 23 of 167 previously sedentary community-dwelling older adults reported an exercise-related injury, an incidence of 14% (12-month follow-up reported 2013; Canada, adults aged 61–88). (A 12-month incidence of exercise-related…)
  • In that Canadian older-adult exercise study, 41% of reported injuries involved the lower extremity (12-month follow-up reported 2013; Canada, study participants). (A 12-month incidence of exercise-related…)
  • Repetitive or overuse muscle strains were the most common injury type in the Canadian study, accounting for 32% of injuries (7 cases) (12-month follow-up reported 2013; Canada, study participants). (A 12-month incidence of exercise-related…)
  • Walking accounted for 11 of 22 activities recorded at injury in the Canadian study, or 50% (12-month follow-up reported 2013; Canada, study participants). (A 12-month incidence of exercise-related…)
  • Among the 23 exercise injuries in the Canadian study, 70% required medical treatment (12-month follow-up reported 2013; Canada, study participants). (A 12-month incidence of exercise-related…)
  • In the Canadian study, 44% of injured participants could not continue exercising immediately after injury (12-month follow-up reported 2013; Canada, study participants). (A 12-month incidence of exercise-related…)
  • Return-to-activity time in the Canadian study ranged from 1 to 182 days after injury (12-month follow-up reported 2013; Canada, study participants). (A 12-month incidence of exercise-related…)
  • In a 26-week walking-training study of 50 healthy older adults, 7 participants (14%) sustained a training-related orthopedic injury (26-week training study published 1992; United States, healthy older adults). (Incidence of injury during moderate-…)
  • In the 26-week walking-training study, 4 injuries occurred in weeks 1–13 and 3 in weeks 14–26 (26-week training study published 1992; United States, study participants). (Incidence of injury during moderate-…)
  • A meta-analysis of 25 randomized trials found exercise reduced fall-related injury risk in older adults, with a risk ratio of 0.879 (95% CI 0.832–0.928) (trials synthesized through 2019 publication; multi-country randomized trials of older adults). (The efficacy and safety of…)
  • The same meta-analysis found exercise-associated injury incidence was 0.002 per participant-year (95% CI 0–0.05) in included trials (trials synthesized through 2019 publication; multi-country randomized trials of older adults). (The efficacy and safety of…)

Selected relatively healthy participants; self-reported injuries.

Small selected cohort.

Activity was available for 22 of 23 injured participants.

Treatment was self-reported.

Range among 23 self-reported injuries.

Small controlled study; many participants walked uphill on a treadmill.

Small study; timing is descriptive.

Heterogeneous exercise protocols and populations.

Pooled injury definitions and interventions varied.

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