Which Countries Drive on the Left? All 54, Explained

Quick answer: 54 of the world's 195 countries drive on the left — including the United Kingdom, Ireland, India, Pakistan, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Kenya and most of the Caribbean. The remaining 141 drive on the right. The full country-by-country list, with each country's speed limits and alcohol rules, is in our driving laws directory.

Why some countries drive on the left

The split is mostly the map of empires. Britain standardised left-hand traffic at home and exported it across its colonies — which is why the left-driving world today is essentially the UK and Ireland, South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal), much of East and Southern Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia), Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, and nearly the entire Caribbean.

The famous exception is Japan — never a British colony, but its left-hand rail and road tradition predates the car. Indonesia, Thailand and Suriname are the other notable non-British lefties. Continental Europe, the Americas (bar a few Caribbean islands and Guyana/Suriname), China, Russia and the Middle East all drive on the right.

Does driving side affect safety?

Not directly — a country's death rate has far more to do with enforcement, vehicle standards and infrastructure than with which side it drives on. Sweden (right) and the UK (left) are both among the safest on earth; you can compare any two countries in our global rankings.

Where the side DOES matter is switching. A driver's first days on the "wrong" side are genuinely dangerous, and the risk concentrates in predictable moments:

• Turning across traffic — your instinct about which lane to enter is wrong exactly when you need it most
• Pulling out of car parks and petrol stations — with no traffic around to copy, instinct takes over
• Overtaking on two-lane roads — your judgement of oncoming distance was calibrated from the other seat
• Roundabouts — they run the opposite way; slow down and follow the car ahead

Renting a car across the divide?

Three checks before you go: which side your destination drives on and its speed limits (each country's page in the driving laws directory covers both), whether you need an International Driving Permit, and the local emergency number from our worldwide directory. Most rental insurers report the first 48 hours as the crash window for side-switching drivers — plan your airport pickup so your first drive isn't in the dark, tired, on a motorway.

The full picture

Our driving laws directory lists the driving side for all 195 countries in one sortable table, alongside drink-driving limits and national speed limits — verified August 2026. For live accident reports from any of them, every country has a tracking page updated every 15 minutes.