The Burrow
Nov 18, 2025
We often talk about “toxic drivers” when it comes to people on the road who intentionally cause issues for others, but as we put a renewed focus on caring for our planet, the phrase has taken on a second meaning.
While some of us take pride in changing our driving habits to make sure we stay as eco-friendly as possible, other areas aren’t as sustainable, and some are harming the environment more than they’re helping when they’re out on the road.
In order to find out where in the world is home to the most and least sustainable drivers, the car insurance experts at Compare the Market Australia compiled data on 30 countries and assessed them based on the average age of the vehicles being driven, driver CO2 emissions released per person, and more, all to determine where in the world people could drive in a more eco-friendly manner.
Here are our findings.
To find the most eco-friendly countries for driving, we scored each entry on our list based on average vehicle age, the number of vehicles per 1,000 people, the share of EV sales in the country, and the CO2 emissions from transport per capita.
Each country was then assigned a score from 0 to 100, with 100 being the least sustainable and 0 being the most sustainable. Based on this, here are the lowest-scoring countries we graded, and therefore, the most sustainable:
Scoring just 24.45 out of 100 on our index, Denmark is the most sustainable country in our rankings. It boasts the second-lowest average vehicle age in the world, at just 8.9 years, and more than half of the cars sold in Denmark last year were electric (56%).
The country’s transportation services do release 1,887 kg of CO2 per capita annually, but with almost half of its residents not owning vehicles (542 cars per 1,000 people), it’s clear that the Danish people are doing their part to reduce emissions.
Ranking just behind its nearby neighbour is Sweden, which places second on our list with an index score of 25.48 out of 100.
Sweden ranks among the countries with the lowest number of vehicles per 1,000 people, tying with Denmark at 542. It also boasts the fourth-lowest emissions per capita worldwide, with just 1,318 kg of CO2 being released per person each year. However, Sweden is held back slightly in our rankings by an average vehicle age of 10.7.
Finishing our tour of Scandinavia is Norway, which takes a bronze medal with a score of 27.30 out of 100. Norway stands out as the country with the highest share of EV sales in 2024, with a massive 92% of all vehicles sold being electric. Despite this, its average transport emissions per capita are higher than the average on our list (2,000), with 2,518 kg being released per person each year.
In fourth place, Switzerland’s score of 32.47 out of 100 ranks it as one of the most eco-friendly driving countries in the world. Although its share of EV sales in 2024 was relatively low (28%), the country has the lowest average vehicle age in the world, at 8.6 years. The country’s emissions are also relatively low, with 1,645kg of CO2 released per capita by transport.
Rounding out our list of the five most sustainable driving countries is the Netherlands, which ranks #5 with a score of 32.50 out of 100. It has the sixth-lowest emissions from transport per capita, with 1,399 kg of CO2 annually, and almost half (48%) of its car sales last year were electric.
Now that we’ve looked at the countries leading the way in eco-friendly transportation, which areas ranked at the bottom of our list?
Topping our list with a massive score of 81.09 out of 100, the United States has the least sustainable transport in the world. Cars are an essential tool in the country, with 850 vehicles registered per 1,000 residents (making it the country with the second most cars per person worldwide), and an average vehicle age of 12.8 years.
10% of vehicles purchased in the United States last year were EVs, which shows some progress towards more sustainable infrastructure, but the country also has the highest transport emissions per capita in the world (4,976kg of CO2 per person each year).
New Zealand has the highest rate of registered vehicles per person worldwide, with almost every resident owning a mode of personal transportation (939 cars per 1,000 people). It’s also the country with the second-oldest vehicles in the world on average, as a typical car in New Zealand was manufactured 14.9 years ago.
Emissions are also high in the country, with 2,853kg of CO2 produced per capita annually. Overall, New Zealand scores 77.27 out of 100 for its eco-unfriendly driving habits.
Australia is the country with the third-least sustainable drivers, releasing 3,404kg of CO2 through transport per capita each year. It’s also the country with the third-highest number of vehicles registered per person (776 per 1,000), although 13% of sales last year were electric models.
A typical car in Australia is 10.6 years old, which is slightly below the worldwide average of 12.2 years. However, all of these add up to an index score of 60.87 out of 100, making the country one of the least sustainable areas for driving in the world.
Placing fourth in our rankings of the least eco-friendly countries for driving, Canada produces the second-highest amount of carbon dioxide through its transportation worldwide. Each year, 4,224kg of CO2 is released by its vehicles per capita, with 677 cars registered per 1,000 people.
The average vehicle age in Canada is 10.5 years, but recent purchases are showing a trend towards more sustainable choices, with 17% of vehicles sold last year being powered by electricity. Its unsustainable driving infrastructure gives it a total score of 60.40 in our rankings.
Finally, Poland rounds out our list of the five countries with the least sustainable driving habits. It ties with New Zealand as the country with the second-oldest vehicles on average (14.9 years), with 671 vehicles registered per 1,000 people. It was also the country with the fifth-lowest share of EV sales last year, where just 5.7% of new vehicles purchased were electric.
Despite all of this, Poland has surprisingly low transport emissions, releasing 1,754kg of CO2 per capita annually. Unfortunately, this doesn’t significantly improve its overall score, and the country still finishes with an index score of 60.27 out of 100.
When examining our regional data for the United States, we can see that Wyoming has the least sustainable drivers. With 1,111 cars registered per 1,000 people, the average resident owns multiple cars, but only 193 vehicles are electric in every 100,000!
Its emissions are also remarkably high, with 12,083kg of CO2 released each year per capita by transportation alone. The average resident in Wyoming drives 21,589 miles each year, making it the state most reliant on road transportation. Overall, it scores 88.30 out of 100 in our index.
North Dakota (78.54) ranks as the second-least sustainable state, with around one car registered per resident (1,001 per 1,000) and 16,300kg of CO2 released per capita by transport annually. Mississippi (77.35) rounds out the top three, with just 122 EVs out of every 100,000 registered vehicles, and only 21.9 chargers for vehicles per 100,000 people.
On the other hand, the region with the most eco-friendly drivers is the District of Columbia (22.99). A typical resident drives just 6,694 miles each year, with only 444 vehicles registered per 1,000 people.
Western Australia is the region with the least sustainable driving infrastructure, as 59.8% of households own multiple vehicles. 30,100 tonnes of CO2 are released per capita in the area annually, and just 6.6% of new vehicle sales last year were electric. These stats, combined with an average vehicle age of 11.2 years, give the state an overall score of 66.14 out of 100 on our rankings.
Tasmania (60.97) ranks second, with the highest average vehicle age in the country (12.9 years) and 57.9% of households owning multiple cars. Finally, in third place, the Northern Territory releases the most CO2 per capita, with a massive 92,500 tonnes each year.
Executive General Manager of General Insurance, Adrian Taylor, notes how our car habits could have more impact on the environment than we realise.
“If you’re looking to drive more sustainably, it’s certainly best to consider switching to a hybrid or electric vehicle to reduce your emissions, or carpool with a friend if you’re heading to the same destination,” Mr Taylor said.
“If your area is well-served by public transportation, you can also try using these methods more frequently in your everyday life.
“Your choice in vehicle not only effects your impact on the environment, it can also impact the price of your car insurance.
“When looking to take out car insurance, it’s always a good idea to compare your options in order to try and find a policy that suits your, your lifestyle and your vehicle.”
This dataset contains 3 rankings: one ranks 30 countries worldwide, another ranks all US states, and one ranks Australian states/territories based on which drivers are the least eco-friendly.
Using 4 key factors (5 for US states), each factor’s data was collected and normalised to a score between 0 and 1, and if data was missing, a score of 0 was given. These scores were then combined to give each location a total score out of 100, and locations were ranked from highest to lowest.
The factors used were as follows:
The factors were then indexed as follows:
All data is correct as of 24/10/25. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources and may not be representative of real life. All data is accurate with regard to the sources provided.