Countries with the best and worst roads in Europe?

In addition to having some of the world’s best cycling infrastructure, one European nation is notable for having some of the best roads in the world for cars.

In the final comprehensive research on road quality conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2019, the Netherlands earned the top European ranking. 12,987 company professionals from 139 different economies were polled about the standard, breadth, and condition of the roadways in their respective nations.

On a scale of one to seven—with one being extremely bad and among the worst in the world and seven being extremely good and among the best—respondents were asked to rank the road infrastructure of their respective nations.

According to the report, western Europeans have better roads than other Europeans on the continent, or at least they think they do. On the other hand, Eastern Europeans have a generally negative perception of the state of their country’s roads.

Only Singapore (6.5) outperforms the Netherlands (6.4) for road quality in Europe, which is followed by Austria (6.0), Portugal (6), Spain (5.7), Croatia (5.7), Switzerland (6.3), which ranks third in the globe (5.6). Hong Kong (6.1) and Japan were ranked fourth and fifth globally for having the best road infrastructure, respectively (6.1).

Malta (3.3), ranked 106th overall out of 141 nations, Ukraine (3.0), Romania (3.0), Bosnia and Herzegovina (2.8), Moldova (2.6), and Bosnia and Herzegovina (2.8) round out the bottom five on the list in Europe. Moldova (2.6) is ranked 127th overall.

According to business executives polled by the World Economic Forum, the world’s worst roads are found throughout Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Chad ranked first (1.9), followed by Mauritania (2.0), Madagascar (2.0), Yemen (2.1), Haiti (2.1), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) and Yemen (2.1).

A cursory look at the map might reveal a few surprises. The majority of its neighbours in western Europe are ahead of Belgium (4.4). Likewise, Italy (4.4), Ireland (4.4), and Iceland (4.1).

Greece stands out on the eastern side of Europe with a score of 4.6, not the highest but superior to its neighbours Bulgaria (3.4), North Macedonia (3.4), and Albania (3.4). (3.9).