A brand new study released by Confused.com reveals which countries have the highest number of cars on the road.
Interestingly, the country that ranked the highest for the number of cars per 1,000 people was New Zealand. The rural landscape, combined with the nation’s relatively low population, could help to explain why there are close to 700 cars per 1000 people.
It was China that came up top for the highest number of cars, with almost 300 million registered vehicles. However, the country’s vast population of more than 1.4 billion means the nation actually comes 27th when it comes to the number of cars per 1000 people, at just 203.
This is almost 10 times more than urban Singapore, placed at the bottom of the rankings, with just 89 cars per 1000.
The study also looked into the age of cars around the world, New Zealand placing 29th out of 30 on the list for having the oldest cars, at an average of 14.5 years, meaning the countries transport isn’t the most environmentally friendly.
Placing last was Argentina, appearing to have the oldest vehicles across the globe with an average age of 17 years. Following this, the country has recently introduced initiatives such as scrappage programmes, that typically involve the disposal of old cars, often to help reduce emissions. Motorists are then encouraged to invest in more environmentally friendly vehicles, with financial incentives or discounts.
Saudi Arabia was found to be best for CO2, with an average age of just 3.8 years. The country sits at 19th place for GDP, which suggests it has higher incomes and therefore a high rate of automobile purchases.