The report on road deaths released by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics shows the annual death rate on ACT roads by population last year was less than half that of other states, and more than eight times lower than the Northern Territory.

There were just 1.83 road fatalities per 100,000 people in the ACT last year, compared with 4.22 in Victoria, the next best jurisdiction, and 15.37 in the NT.

Over the decade to 2013, national annual fatalities decreased by 25 per cent and, when the increased population was taken into account, the reductions over the decade are even greater at 35 per cent.

While the ACT also had the lowest fatality rate in 2004, it still had a 6.3 per cent average reduction in deaths over the decade, second only to Tasmania, with New South Wales and Victoria also having strong falls.

Nationally, the 65 years and over age group has the highest rate of annual fatalities per population; accounting for 14 per cent of the population but 23 per cent of fatalities.

In launching the report, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Jamie Briggs noted the increase of deaths of older road users over the decade could be explained, in part at least, "by increased population in this age group and increased road use exposure".

The 17 to 25 years age group also has a significantly higher than average fatality rate, although it has the strongest downward trend. The number of deaths of people in the age bracket are now about half of what they were in 2004.

Motorcyclists now account for 18 per cent of fatalities nationally, up from 12 per cent 10 years ago, but Canberra also has the lowest rate of motorcycle fatalities of all the jurisdictions.

There were 1.53 motorcyclist deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles in the ACT last year compared with the Australia-wide figure of 2.86, with an average decrease in the Territory per annum of more than 10 per cent since 2004.

When it comes to cyclist deaths, Canberra also fares reasonably well, with only five fatalities in the last decade, the least of all jurisdictions, although the report does not break down the figures by population.

The report shows males are more than 2½ times more likely to die on roads than females.

Passengers are the only category of road user with a relatively even breakdown by gender, with fatalities more commonly male for drivers, pedestrians, motorcyclists and pedal cyclists.