These tables present national series on occupational injuries contained in the ILO's statistical data base, LABORSTA. They represent the official statistics provided by the relevant national agencies to the ILO Bureau of Statistics, for publication in the ILO Yearbook of Labour Statistics.

The national agencies are requested to provide the data in conformity with the most up-to-date international statistical guidelines in this field, currently the Resolution concerning statistics of occupational injuries (resulting from occupational accidents) adopted by the Sixteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) (Geneva, 1998). The Resolution contains the following definitions for statistical purposes:

occupational accident: an unexpected and unplanned occurrence, including acts of violence, arising out of or in connection with work which results in one or more workers incurring a personal injury, disease or death;

as occupational accidents are to be considered travel, transport or road traffic accidents in which workers are injured and which arise out of or in the course of work, i.e. while engaged in an economic activity, or at work, or carrying on the business of the employer;

occupational injury: any personal injury, disease or death resulting from an occupational accident; an occupational injury is therefore distinct from an occupational disease, which is a disease contracted as a result of an exposure over a period of time to risk factors arising from work activity;

case of occupational injury: the case of one worker incurring an occupational injury as a result of one occupational accident;

incapacity for work: inability of the victim, due to an occupational injury, to perform the normal duties of work in the job or post occupied at the time of the occupational accident.

It also recommends that the statistics should cover all workers regardless of their status in employment (i.e. both employees and the self-employed, including employers and own-account workers), and the whole country, all branches of economic activity and all sectors of the economy.

The following are generally excluded: cases of occupational disease (an occupational disease is a disease contracted as a result of an exposure over a period of time to risk factors arising from work activity) and cases of injury due to commuting accidents (a commuting accident is an accident occurring on the habitual route, in either direction, between the place of work or work-related training and (i) the worker's principal or secondary residence; (ii) the place where the worker usually takes her/his meals; or (ii) the place where she/he usually receives her/his remuneration; which results in death or personal injury).

The type of statistics shown for a particular country depends on the source used. Data on occupational injuries are most frequently obtained from occupational accident reporting systems (e.g. to a labour inspectorate) or occupational injury compensation schemes, although surveys of establishments and of households are used in a few countries. The type of source determines the coverage of the statistics. In many countries, the coverage of reporting requirements or injury compensation, and thus the coverage of the statistics, is limited to certain types of workers (employees only in many cases), certain economic activities, cases of injury with more than a certain number of days of incapacity, etc. The type of source is shown after the country name in the tables, followed by the type of injury covered (reported or compensated).

The statistics relate to cases of occupational injury due to occupational accidents that occurred during the calendar year indicated. Total days lost as a result of a case of injury are included in the statistics for the calendar year in which the occupational accident took place.

Care should be taken when using the data provided in these tables, particularly when making international comparisons. The sources, methods of data collection, coverage and classifications used differ between countries. For example, coverage may be limited to certain types of workers (employees, insured persons, full-time workers, etc.), certain economic activities, establishments employing more than a given number of workers, cases of injury losing more than a certain number of days of work, etc.

In order to provide users with basic information on the sources and methods used in compiling these statistics, and to illustrate the differences between the various national series, methodological descriptions are available wherever possible for each series. These can be accessed by clicking on the type of source given in the tables. Additional information is also provided in the footnotes to the tables.

Brief details of the coverage of the national series appearing in the most recent edition of the Yearbook of Labour Statistics are given in a synoptic table.

The workers in the particular group under consideration and covered by the source of the statistics of occupational injuries (e.g. those of a specific sex or in a specific economic activity, occupation, region, age group, or any combination of these, or those covered by a particular compensation scheme) are known as the workers in the reference group. The number of workers in the reference group varies between countries and economic activities and from one period to another, because of differences or changes in the size and composition of employment and other factors. In order to make comparisons between countries, activities and over time, the differences in numbers need to be taken into account, e.g. by calculating comparative measures, such as frequency, incidence and severity rates.

It should be borned in mind that a rise or fall in the number of cases of occupational injury or in the rates of injury over a period of time may reflect not only changes in conditions of work and the work environment, but also modifications in reporting procedures or data collection methods, or revisions to laws or regulations governing the reporting or compensation of occupational injuries in the country concerned.

Where possible, the data are classified according to economic activity and sex.

This table shows the number of cases of occupational injury with lost workdays, as follows:

Total cases: all cases of occupational injury with lost workdays, i.e. the total of fatal cases and non-fatal cases.

Fatal cases: cases where workers were fatally injured as a result of occupational accidents, and where death occurred within one year of the day of the accident.

Non-fatal cases (temporary and permanent incapacity): cases of occupational injury where the workers injured were unable to work temporarily or permanently from the day after the day of the accident.

Cases of temporary incapacity: cases of occupational injury where the workers injured were unable to work from the day after the day of the accident, but were later able to perform again the normal duties of work in the job or post occupied at the time of the occupational accident causing the injury within a period of one year from the day of the accident.

This table shows frequency or incidence rates of fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries.

Frequency rates are generally calculated as the number of new cases of injury during the calendar year (as given in Table 8A) divided by the total number of hours worked by workers in the reference group during the year, multiplied by 1,000,000. Incidence rates are calculated as the number of new cases of injury during the calendar year divided by the number of workers in the reference group during the year, multiplied by 100,000.

The type of rate (per 1,000,000 hours worked, per 100,000 workers employed, per 100,000 employees, per 100,000 workers insured, etc.) is indicated at the head of the table.

This table presents the number of days lost by cases of occupational injury with temporary incapacity for work (as given in Table 8A). In a few cases, they also include days lost by cases with permanent incapacity, which may include estimates. The days lost are generally the calendar days during which the injured worker was temporarily unable to work, excluding the day of the accident, up to a maximum of one year. In some countries, however, particularly those where the source of the statistics is an accident compensation scheme, days lost are expressed in workdays. Temporary absences from work of less than one day for medical treatment are not included.