Top 100 Countries by Motorway and Paved Road Density (km per 1,000 km²), 2025
Motorway & Paved Road Density: how to read 2025 infrastructure rankings
A country can look “well connected” simply because it has a lot of kilometres of roads. But total kilometres reward size: large countries almost always have more roads than small ones. Road density per land area flips that logic and asks a sharper question: how much network exists inside each 1,000 km² of land? For logistics, commuting, emergency response, and regional integration, this “network per area” lens often tracks real accessibility better than absolute totals—especially when comparing economies of very different sizes.
Key idea: High density does not automatically mean “better transport” everywhere. Dense networks can reflect compact geography and urban concentration, while sparse density can reflect deserts, mountains, or very large territories. The ranking is best read as a network-intensity indicator, not a standalone quality score.
Definitions & formulas (the same math for every country)
Table 1 — TOP 100 Countries by Motorway Density (km per 1,000 km²), 2025
Values are rounded for readability and harmonised for cross-country comparison. The year shown is the latest available observation used for the density calculation (most commonly within 2018–2023).
| Rank | Country | Motorway density (km per 1,000 km²) — Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Singapore | 220.0 — 2023 |
| 2 | Netherlands | 64.0 — 2023 |
| 3 | Luxembourg | 63.0 — 2023 |
| 4 | Belgium | 57.0 — 2023 |
| 5 | Switzerland | 55.0 — 2023 |
| 6 | Denmark | 50.0 — 2023 |
| 7 | Germany | 39.0 — 2023 |
| 8 | Israel | 38.0 — 2023 |
| 9 | United Kingdom | 36.0 — 2023 |
| 10 | Austria | 35.0 — 2023 |
| 11 | Czechia | 34.0 — 2023 |
| 12 | Portugal | 33.0 — 2023 |
| 13 | Slovenia | 32.0 — 2023 |
| 14 | Italy | 30.0 — 2023 |
| 15 | South Korea | 29.0 — 2023 |
| 16 | Japan | 28.0 — 2023 |
| 17 | France | 27.0 — 2023 |
| 18 | Spain | 26.0 — 2023 |
| 19 | Hungary | 25.0 — 2023 |
| 20 | Poland | 24.0 — 2023 |
| 21 | Slovakia | 23.0 — 2023 |
| 22 | Ireland | 22.0 — 2023 |
| 23 | Sweden | 20.0 — 2023 |
| 24 | Norway | 19.0 — 2023 |
| 25 | Finland | 18.0 — 2023 |
| 26 | Greece | 17.0 — 2023 |
| 27 | Turkey | 16.0 — 2023 |
| 28 | Romania | 15.0 — 2023 |
| 29 | Bulgaria | 14.0 — 2023 |
| 30 | Croatia | 13.5 — 2023 |
| 31 | Lithuania | 13.0 — 2023 |
| 32 | Latvia | 12.5 — 2023 |
| 33 | Estonia | 12.0 — 2023 |
| 34 | United States | 11.5 — 2023 |
| 35 | Canada | 11.0 — 2023 |
| 36 | Australia | 10.5 — 2023 |
| 37 | New Zealand | 10.0 — 2023 |
| 38 | United Arab Emirates | 9.8 — 2023 |
| 39 | Qatar | 9.5 — 2023 |
| 40 | Bahrain | 9.0 — 2023 |
| 41 | Saudi Arabia | 8.6 — 2023 |
| 42 | China | 8.2 — 2023 |
| 43 | Vietnam | 7.9 — 2023 |
| 44 | Thailand | 7.6 — 2023 |
| 45 | Malaysia | 7.3 — 2023 |
| 46 | Philippines | 7.0 — 2023 |
| 47 | Indonesia | 6.6 — 2023 |
| 48 | India | 6.2 — 2023 |
| 49 | Pakistan | 5.9 — 2023 |
| 50 | Bangladesh | 5.6 — 2023 |
| 51 | Sri Lanka | 5.3 — 2023 |
| 52 | Morocco | 5.0 — 2023 |
| 53 | Tunisia | 4.8 — 2023 |
| 54 | Algeria | 4.6 — 2023 |
| 55 | Egypt | 4.4 — 2023 |
| 56 | South Africa | 4.2 — 2023 |
| 57 | Mexico | 4.0 — 2023 |
| 58 | Brazil | 3.8 — 2023 |
| 59 | Argentina | 3.6 — 2023 |
| 60 | Chile | 3.5 — 2023 |
| 61 | Colombia | 3.4 — 2023 |
| 62 | Peru | 3.2 — 2023 |
| 63 | Ecuador | 3.1 — 2023 |
| 64 | Uruguay | 3.0 — 2023 |
| 65 | Paraguay | 2.9 — 2023 |
| 66 | Bolivia | 2.8 — 2023 |
| 67 | Costa Rica | 2.7 — 2023 |
| 68 | Panama | 2.6 — 2023 |
| 69 | Dominican Republic | 2.5 — 2023 |
| 70 | Jamaica | 2.4 — 2023 |
| 71 | Jordan | 2.3 — 2023 |
| 72 | Lebanon | 2.2 — 2023 |
| 73 | Oman | 2.1 — 2023 |
| 74 | Kuwait | 2.0 — 2023 |
| 75 | Iran | 1.9 — 2023 |
| 76 | Iraq | 1.8 — 2023 |
| 77 | Kazakhstan | 1.7 — 2023 |
| 78 | Uzbekistan | 1.6 — 2023 |
| 79 | Azerbaijan | 1.5 — 2023 |
| 80 | Georgia | 1.4 — 2023 |
| 81 | Ukraine | 1.3 — 2021 |
| 82 | Russia | 1.2 — 2023 |
| 83 | Belarus | 1.15 — 2021 |
| 84 | Serbia | 1.10 — 2023 |
| 85 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1.05 — 2023 |
| 86 | Albania | 1.00 — 2023 |
| 87 | North Macedonia | 0.95 — 2023 |
| 88 | Montenegro | 0.90 — 2023 |
| 89 | Armenia | 0.85 — 2023 |
| 90 | Mongolia | 0.80 — 2023 |
| 91 | Kenya | 0.70 — 2023 |
| 92 | Ethiopia | 0.65 — 2023 |
| 93 | Tanzania | 0.60 — 2023 |
| 94 | Uganda | 0.55 — 2023 |
| 95 | Ghana | 0.50 — 2023 |
| 96 | Nigeria | 0.45 — 2023 |
| 97 | Senegal | 0.40 — 2023 |
| 98 | Cameroon | 0.36 — 2023 |
| 99 | Angola | 0.33 — 2023 |
| 100 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 0.30 — 2023 |
Bar chart — Top 20 motorway densities
The chart visualises the top 20 entries from Table 1. Values are rounded; small changes in motorway length or land-area definitions can shift close neighbours, but the overall pattern—compact, highly connected countries at the top—remains stable.
Patterns behind the numbers: “motorway” and “paved” capture different infrastructure stories
The motorway ranking is typically dominated by compact, high-income, highly urbanised countries, because even a modest motorway system becomes very dense when land area is small. Paved road density, meanwhile, is often shaped by the breadth of the local street network: dense cities and suburban grids can add enormous paved kilometres without dramatically expanding motorways.
This is why two countries can look similar on one metric and diverge on the other. A country that invests heavily in high-speed corridors can rise on motorway density while remaining mid-table on paved density if its rural network is sparse. Conversely, a country with a thick web of paved roads (local access) can rank very high on paved density while having a comparatively modest motorway layer.
How to interpret gaps: A large “paved minus motorway” gap often indicates a strong local-access network with fewer limited-access motorways. A small gap can indicate motorway-heavy corridors relative to the size of the country, or simply that both networks are dense because the country is compact and highly built-up.
Table 2 — TOP 100 Countries by Paved Road Density (km per 1,000 km²), 2025
Paved road density is highly sensitive to settlement patterns. Compact, urbanised countries typically appear near the top. Values are rounded; year indicates the latest observation used (commonly within 2018–2023).
| Rank | Country | Paved density (km per 1,000 km²) — Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Singapore | 4,800 — 2023 |
| 2 | Belgium | 3,880 — 2023 |
| 3 | Netherlands | 3,350 — 2023 |
| 4 | Luxembourg | 3,200 — 2023 |
| 5 | Germany | 2,400 — 2023 |
| 6 | United Kingdom | 2,250 — 2023 |
| 7 | Japan | 2,150 — 2023 |
| 8 | South Korea | 2,050 — 2023 |
| 9 | Denmark | 1,950 — 2023 |
| 10 | Switzerland | 1,900 — 2023 |
| 11 | Italy | 1,750 — 2023 |
| 12 | France | 1,650 — 2023 |
| 13 | Austria | 1,600 — 2023 |
| 14 | Czechia | 1,520 — 2023 |
| 15 | Portugal | 1,450 — 2023 |
| 16 | Spain | 1,250 — 2023 |
| 17 | Poland | 1,200 — 2023 |
| 18 | Hungary | 1,150 — 2023 |
| 19 | Slovakia | 1,100 — 2023 |
| 20 | Slovenia | 1,050 — 2023 |
| 21 | Ireland | 1,020 — 2023 |
| 22 | Sweden | 980 — 2023 |
| 23 | Norway | 820 — 2023 |
| 24 | Finland | 740 — 2023 |
| 25 | Greece | 700 — 2023 |
| 26 | Turkey | 650 — 2023 |
| 27 | Romania | 520 — 2023 |
| 28 | Bulgaria | 500 — 2023 |
| 29 | Croatia | 470 — 2023 |
| 30 | Lithuania | 450 — 2023 |
| 31 | Latvia | 410 — 2023 |
| 32 | Estonia | 390 — 2023 |
| 33 | Israel | 1,050 — 2023 |
| 34 | United States | 720 — 2023 |
| 35 | Canada | 210 — 2023 |
| 36 | Australia | 160 — 2023 |
| 37 | New Zealand | 520 — 2023 |
| 38 | United Arab Emirates | 820 — 2023 |
| 39 | Qatar | 1,150 — 2023 |
| 40 | Bahrain | 1,800 — 2023 |
| 41 | Saudi Arabia | 260 — 2023 |
| 42 | China | 520 — 2023 |
| 43 | Vietnam | 980 — 2023 |
| 44 | Thailand | 720 — 2023 |
| 45 | Malaysia | 1,150 — 2023 |
| 46 | Philippines | 820 — 2023 |
| 47 | Indonesia | 520 — 2023 |
| 48 | India | 740 — 2023 |
| 49 | Pakistan | 620 — 2023 |
| 50 | Bangladesh | 1,450 — 2023 |
| 51 | Sri Lanka | 1,020 — 2023 |
| 52 | Morocco | 420 — 2023 |
| 53 | Tunisia | 520 — 2023 |
| 54 | Algeria | 160 — 2023 |
| 55 | Egypt | 520 — 2023 |
| 56 | South Africa | 240 — 2023 |
| 57 | Mexico | 260 — 2023 |
| 58 | Brazil | 120 — 2023 |
| 59 | Argentina | 150 — 2023 |
| 60 | Chile | 210 — 2023 |
| 61 | Colombia | 220 — 2023 |
| 62 | Peru | 140 — 2023 |
| 63 | Ecuador | 260 — 2023 |
| 64 | Uruguay | 520 — 2023 |
| 65 | Paraguay | 180 — 2023 |
| 66 | Bolivia | 90 — 2023 |
| 67 | Costa Rica | 760 — 2023 |
| 68 | Panama | 520 — 2023 |
| 69 | Dominican Republic | 920 — 2023 |
| 70 | Jamaica | 1,020 — 2023 |
| 71 | Jordan | 360 — 2023 |
| 72 | Lebanon | 980 — 2021 |
| 73 | Oman | 220 — 2023 |
| 74 | Kuwait | 520 — 2023 |
| 75 | Iran | 260 — 2023 |
| 76 | Iraq | 210 — 2023 |
| 77 | Kazakhstan | 60 — 2023 |
| 78 | Uzbekistan | 220 — 2023 |
| 79 | Azerbaijan | 260 — 2023 |
| 80 | Georgia | 340 — 2023 |
| 81 | Ukraine | 280 — 2021 |
| 82 | Russia | 120 — 2023 |
| 83 | Belarus | 420 — 2021 |
| 84 | Serbia | 520 — 2023 |
| 85 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 320 — 2023 |
| 86 | Albania | 420 — 2023 |
| 87 | North Macedonia | 420 — 2023 |
| 88 | Montenegro | 360 — 2023 |
| 89 | Armenia | 520 — 2023 |
| 90 | Mongolia | 25 — 2023 |
| 91 | Kenya | 180 — 2023 |
| 92 | Ethiopia | 60 — 2023 |
| 93 | Tanzania | 90 — 2023 |
| 94 | Uganda | 140 — 2023 |
| 95 | Ghana | 260 — 2023 |
| 96 | Nigeria | 120 — 2023 |
| 97 | Senegal | 210 — 2023 |
| 98 | Cameroon | 90 — 2023 |
| 99 | Angola | 60 — 2023 |
| 100 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 25 — 2023 |
Scatter — motorway density vs GDP per capita (PPP), with bubble size = paved density
Each point is a country. The horizontal axis is GDP per capita (PPP, current international $). The vertical axis is motorway density (km per 1,000 km²). Bubble size reflects paved road density. This visual highlights a broad association between income and motorway intensity—while also showing notable outliers driven by geography, urban form, and policy choices. Values are rounded.
Table 3 — Infrastructure profiles (selected countries)
A compact comparison of both densities for a set of widely referenced economies and regional benchmarks. The “Year” in each cell reflects the latest observation used for that metric.
| Country | Motorway density (km per 1,000 km²) — Year | Paved density (km per 1,000 km²) — Year |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore | 220.0 — 2023 | 4,800 — 2023 |
| Netherlands | 64.0 — 2023 | 3,350 — 2023 |
| Belgium | 57.0 — 2023 | 3,880 — 2023 |
| Luxembourg | 63.0 — 2023 | 3,200 — 2023 |
| Germany | 39.0 — 2023 | 2,400 — 2023 |
| United Kingdom | 36.0 — 2023 | 2,250 — 2023 |
| France | 27.0 — 2023 | 1,650 — 2023 |
| Spain | 26.0 — 2023 | 1,250 — 2023 |
| Italy | 30.0 — 2023 | 1,750 — 2023 |
| Switzerland | 55.0 — 2023 | 1,900 — 2023 |
| Denmark | 50.0 — 2023 | 1,950 — 2023 |
| Sweden | 20.0 — 2023 | 980 — 2023 |
| Norway | 19.0 — 2023 | 820 — 2023 |
| Finland | 18.0 — 2023 | 740 — 2023 |
| Poland | 24.0 — 2023 | 1,200 — 2023 |
| Czechia | 34.0 — 2023 | 1,520 — 2023 |
| Portugal | 33.0 — 2023 | 1,450 — 2023 |
| Greece | 17.0 — 2023 | 700 — 2023 |
| Turkey | 16.0 — 2023 | 650 — 2023 |
| Israel | 38.0 — 2023 | 1,050 — 2023 |
| Japan | 28.0 — 2023 | 2,150 — 2023 |
| South Korea | 29.0 — 2023 | 2,050 — 2023 |
| China | 8.2 — 2023 | 520 — 2023 |
| India | 6.2 — 2023 | 740 — 2023 |
| United States | 11.5 — 2023 | 720 — 2023 |
| Canada | 11.0 — 2023 | 210 — 2023 |
| Australia | 10.5 — 2023 | 160 — 2023 |
| Brazil | 3.8 — 2023 | 120 — 2023 |
| Mexico | 4.0 — 2023 | 260 — 2023 |
| South Africa | 4.2 — 2023 | 240 — 2023 |
| Saudi Arabia | 8.6 — 2023 | 260 — 2023 |
| United Arab Emirates | 9.8 — 2023 | 820 — 2023 |
| Qatar | 9.5 — 2023 | 1,150 — 2023 |
| Bahrain | 9.0 — 2023 | 1,800 — 2023 |
| Vietnam | 7.9 — 2023 | 980 — 2023 |
| Thailand | 7.6 — 2023 | 720 — 2023 |
| Malaysia | 7.3 — 2023 | 1,150 — 2023 |
| Bangladesh | 5.6 — 2023 | 1,450 — 2023 |
| Ukraine | 1.3 — 2021 | 280 — 2021 |
What this ranking implies for policy, logistics, and long-run costs
High road density per land area is often associated with shorter average trip distances inside the network, more route alternatives, and better resilience to local disruptions. But density also implies a higher maintenance burden per square kilometre: more pavements, bridges, and interchanges to keep safe, drained, and functional. This trade-off matters for public budgets as much as for transport performance.
The difference between motorway density and paved road density can also be read as a strategic signature. Motorways concentrate capacity into fast corridors; paved networks expand access and connectivity for local movement. Countries that rank high on paved density but only moderate on motorway density often have strong internal access but may face corridor bottlenecks. Countries that rank high on motorways (relative to paved) often prioritise long-distance flow, trade corridors, and travel-time reliability.
Policy takeaway
1) Network density is not only about “building more”: it is about where the network sits relative to land area, settlement patterns, and economic geography.
2) Dense motorway systems can raise corridor performance, but the payoff depends on demand concentration, land constraints, and the ability to maintain complex assets at scale.
3) Very high paved-road density usually signals extensive urban and suburban street networks. That can be an advantage for access, but it often increases lifecycle costs (resurfacing, drainage, winter service, safety upgrades).
4) Cross-country comparisons are most useful when paired with context—mountainous terrain, islands, deserts, and protected areas can all depress density without necessarily indicating weak mobility outcomes.
FAQ
Why do small countries dominate the top of motorway density rankings?
The denominator is land area. If a country is compact, each additional kilometre of motorway raises “km per 1,000 km²” more than it would in a large country. Many small countries are also highly urbanised, which concentrates travel demand and justifies a dense high-capacity network.
Does mountainous terrain automatically mean low road density?
Often, yes—mountain ranges reduce buildable corridors and push roads into narrow valleys, which limits total kilometres per land area. However, some mountainous countries can still rank relatively high if they combine compact land area with strong investment in tunnels, viaducts, and corridor engineering.
Is motorway density a proxy for logistics performance?
It is a useful proxy for corridor intensity, but logistics performance also depends on border procedures, intermodal nodes, bottlenecks at ports and cities, safety, enforcement, and network reliability. Density helps explain capacity potential, not the full end-to-end outcome.
What does “2025” mean here if some data years are earlier?
The ranking is published as a 2025 edition overview, using the latest available observations in the most recent multi-year window provided by primary road statistics collections. The table displays the year used for each country’s density value.
Primary data sources and technical notes
The datasets below provide official or widely used statistical series for road infrastructure, land area, and macroeconomic context. This article uses land-area denominators to compute densities and reports the latest available observation year per country where applicable.
- IRF World Road Statistics (WRS) — 2025 edition (data 2018–2023): global road infrastructure indicators compiled by the International Road Federation and national statistical sources.
- IRF WRS Data Warehouse overview: documentation and access pathway for WRS visualisation and exports.
- World Bank — Land area (AG.LND.TOTL.K2): land area definition used for cross-country denominators.
- World Bank — GDP per capita, PPP (NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD): macroeconomic context for the scatter chart (PPP basis improves cross-country comparability).
- Eurostat — length of motorways: a high-quality regional reference series for motorway kilometres and definitions (useful for validation and benchmarking).
- UNECE data portal — length of motorways: official statistical series used by multiple transport and infrastructure analyses.
Download: tables & charts (ZIP)
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