Research reveals Europe's best and worst countries to drive in

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 18^th 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 km^2, 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