Congratulations to Switzerland for being voted Europe’s best country to drive in, which new research has revealed.
The study by the International Drivers Association analysed several factors surrounding driving in Europe and scored 33 countries based on how congested the roads are, the quality of the roads, petrol prices, and how safe driving is.
It found that Switzerland is the most car friendly country, with the country scoring highest on the list for its safety, with only 1.71 road traffic deaths per 100,000 people, the world’s third highest road quality score of 6.3, and a dense road network with 204km of road per 100 km2. With only 604 cars per 1,000 people, this score indicated a relatively low number of vehicles and lower congestion on the road compared to other European countries.
The United Kingdom came in 18th out of the 33 nations studied due to its third-lowest road quality score of 3. However, the UK does have the fourth lowest road traffic deaths in Europe, with 2.81 deaths per 100,000 people.
The Netherlands comes in second place on the list, with the country scoring 97.99 out of 100 based on several factors, including its dense road network of 332km of road per 100 km2. The country also has the fifth lowest road traffic deaths, with 2.83 per 100,000 people, and the best road quality in Europe, with a score of 6.4, which is also the second best in the world.
Coming in third place is Belgium, with the country scoring a high 83.56 due to its dense road network with 388km of road per 100 km2, which is the highest of any European country. There are also only 590 cars per 1,000 people giving it a higher score in that department, highlighting uncongested road networks.
Denmark takes the fourth position, scoring 79.11 out of 100 based on factors such as a low density of cars on the road with 540 per 1,000 people, relatively safe roads with only three road traffic deaths per 100,000 people and a road quality score of 5.3.
Rank Country Cars per 1,000 people Road network density
(km of road per 100 km2)Road traffic deaths per 100,000 people (latest data) Price per litre of petrol Roads quality score Driving score /100 1 Switzerland 604 204 1.71 £1.66 6.3 100.00 2 Netherlands 588 332 2.83 £1.74 6.4 97.99 3 Belgium 590 388 5.1 £1.69 4.4 83.56 4 Denmark 540 171 3 £1.76 5.6 79.11 5 Germany 628 180 2.98 £1.62 5.3 78.40 6 Sweden 545 127 2.57 £1.64 5.3 77.60 7 Spain 627 135 3.15 £1.51 5.7 76.36 8 Cyprus 578 215 4.9 £1.28 5.1 76.07 9 Austria 632 151 4.18 £1.51 6 74.77 10 France 667 191 4.6 £1.38 5.4 74.58 11 Slovenia 660 192 4.41 £1.23 4.9 74.12 12 Ireland 535 142 2.92 £1.57 4.4 72.09 13 Finland 790 135 3.09 £1.75 5.3 71.93 14 Luxembourg 776 111 3.62 £1.45 5.5 70.22 15 Turkey 254 56 6.52 £1.00 5 70.13 16 Hungary 463 227 6.33 £1.42 4 68.87 17 Iceland 840 13 1.78 £1.95 4.1 67.54 18 United Kingdom 594 175 2.81 £1.66 3 67.15 19 Italy 756 162 4.13 £1.44 4.4 67.15 20 North Macedonia 205 55 4.25 £1.27 3.4 66.02 21 Ukraine 245 28 9.34 £1.17 4.9 62.67 22 Lithuania 507 129 7.24 £1.45 4.8 62.55 23 Croatia 479 48 6.58 £1.33 5.6 62.00 24 Poland 849 136 8.18 £1.25 4.3 58.76 25 Montenegro 367 56 6.53 £1.15 3.9 57.98 26 Slovakia 513 80 5.28 £1.48 4 56.77 27 Greece 606 89 6.68 £1.75 4.6 55.63 28 Czech Republic 648 71 5.54 £1.50 3.9 53.44 29 Albania 238 14 9.88 £1.52 3.9 52.96 30 Moldova 367 28 6.6 £1.15 2.6 48.68 31 Bosnia and Herzegovina 345 45 10.79 £1.27 2.8 47.11 32 Bulgaria 482 18 8.59 £1.22 3.4 46.89 33 Romania 441 36 8.54 £1.32 3 46.04
Rounding out the top five is Germany, with a score of 78.40 out of 100. The country saw the seventh lowest road traffic deaths in Europe with 2.98 deaths per 100,000 people, relatively lower petrol prices than other nations and a decent road quality score of 5.3.
The study was conducted by the International Drivers Association, a service that can provide you with an International Driving Permit, allowing you to drive or rent a car in over 150 countries.
Methodology:
- We calculated the cars per 1,000 people by collecting population numbers and the estimated number of vehicles in each country
- The road network density is the total length of road per area of 100km2
- Road traffic deaths per 100,000 people is existing data collected from the World Health Organization
- Price per litre of Petrol has been sourced from GlobalPetrolPrices.com
- The Road Quality Score is taken from the World Economic Forum
Each of these factors have been indexed to create a ‘driving score’ out of 100
