Motoring

South Africa named one of the world’s worst countries to drive in

Staff Writer

 ·21 Aug 2025

South Africa is the fourth-worst country to drive in, suffering from a high road deaths, poor quality roads, higher than average speed limits and high levels of congestion.

This is according to UK-based Compare the Market, which is owned by BGL Group. 

The late South African-born billionaire Douw Steyn owned BGL Group, alongside Auto & General Insurance in South Africa. The Steyn City estate in North Joburg is also named after him. 

To compile its ranking, Compare the Market conducted a data-led analysis of road safety, traffic conditions and driving environments across 56 global locations. 

Based on a consistent set of measurable factors, the index is designed to reflect where drivers are most likely and most unlikely to experience safe and supportive road conditions.

The comparison looks at five sets of data, including 

1. Road deaths per 100,000 people – using historical data, Compare the Market projected the number of road deaths per 100,000 people in 2025
2. Legal Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limits
3. Average speed limits across highways, as well as rural and urban roads in kilometres per hour
4. Quality of the roads, on a scale of one to seven
5. Traffic index score, where a higher score reflects more congestion and inefficiency

According to this data, South Africa ranks as the fourth-worst country for driving, with an average score of 48.85. 

A key reason for this was the 17.9 road deaths per 100,000 people, which highlights the country’s challenges in road safety.

The country’s traffic score of 186.1 also underscores the need for improvements in traffic management and overall road safety to support a more reliable and secure driving environment. 

South Africa’s road quality score of 4.5 out of 7 reflects above-average infrastructure, but there is room for improvement to ensure safer and more efficient roads.

The nation’s BAC limit of 0.05% is lower than that of other countries on the list, while the average speed limit of 90 km/h is also not terrible compared to its competitors, though remains higher on average.

International scores 

Overall, Compare the Market named Thailand as the worst country to drive in, with a score of 43.83

It has the third-highest rate of road deaths at 30.7 per 100,000 people. The country also suffers from below-average infrastructure. 

In second place is Argentina, which scored 46.21 due to its poor infrastructure. Indonesia is third due to its high levels of traffic congestion. 

Regarding the worst statistic, road deaths, Saudi Arabia is comfortably the worst-performer on the list, scoring 53.8. This is followed by Vietman’s 38.5. 

On the other end of the total rankings is the Netherlands, which had the best score of any country at 84.88. 

“With well-maintained roads, reasonable average speed limits and relatively low congestion, driving in the Netherlands is a breeze, especially when you’re outside of the city centres,” the group said. 

“The only thing you need to keep an eye out for is cyclists coming from every direction.” 

In a close second was Estonia, whose strong infrastructure led to it having the lowest traffic index score on the list. 

“As one of the least populous European countries, at just 1.3 million people, it’s maybe not surprising that the roads are safer than in busier countries, and its total score out of 100 was 81.93.” 

Japan and Sweden came in third and fourth, respectively. The nations stood out for their high road quality and low fatalities. 

The top 10 worst-countries to drive in can be found below: