How many countries drive on the opposite side?
About 75 countries and territories drive on the left side of the road—the “opposite side” from the global norm of right‑hand traffic—while roughly 165 jurisdictions drive on the right. Depending on whether you count territories and dependencies, that translates to around 54 sovereign countries driving on the left, representing roughly a third of the world’s population.
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What “opposite side” means—and why the numbers vary
Globally, most places drive on the right. When people ask about the “opposite side,” they typically mean left‑hand traffic (LHT), which is opposite to the right‑hand traffic (RHT) used in the majority of countries. Counts differ slightly because some lists include non-sovereign territories (for example, Hong Kong, Macau, and various British Overseas Territories), while others only count UN member states.
Where left‑hand driving is found
Left‑hand traffic is concentrated in parts of Asia, Oceania, southern and eastern Africa, and the Caribbean—largely reflecting historical ties to the British Empire and regional alignment with neighbors.
- Europe: United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, Malta
- Asia: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Timor‑Leste; also Hong Kong and Macau (territories)
- Oceania: Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Samoa, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Nauru, Cook Islands, Niue (latter two in free association with New Zealand)
- Africa: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, Lesotho, Eswatini, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Seychelles, Mauritius
- Americas and Caribbean: Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Bahamas, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis (plus several British Overseas Territories such as Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos, British Virgin Islands)
This list highlights major examples rather than every jurisdiction. A few nearby territories use the opposite rule from their metropole (for example, the UK drives left, but Gibraltar drives on the right), underscoring why totals can shift with how “country” is defined.
Why do some places drive on different sides?
The side of the road a country uses typically follows history, colonial administration, and regional practicality.
- Historical legacy: Former British-administered regions generally retained left‑hand traffic.
- Regional alignment: Neighbors often harmonize to ease cross-border travel and trade.
- Vehicle fleets and infrastructure: The cost of switching signage, road design, and vehicles can be enormous, deterring change.
- Safety and driver habit: Long-standing driving norms and training are hard to reverse safely at scale.
Together, these factors explain why most countries keep the system they inherited and why changes, when they happen, are rare and carefully planned.
Countries that have switched sides
Although uncommon, some countries have changed driving sides to better align with neighbors or for political and economic reasons.
- Sweden: Left to right in 1967 (“Dagen H”)
- Myanmar: Left to right in 1970
- Nigeria: Left to right in 1972
- Sierra Leone and Ghana: Left to right in the early 1970s (Ghana in 1974)
- Samoa: Right to left in 2009 (to align with nearby left‑driving countries and car import markets)
These shifts are notable precisely because they are rare; most nations have not changed sides in decades and have built modern infrastructure around their current systems.
Key takeaways
About 75 countries and territories—roughly 54 sovereign states—drive on the left, while around 165 drive on the right. That split reflects historical patterns and regional coordination, with around a third of the world’s population living in left‑driving jurisdictions. The figures can vary slightly depending on whether territories and dependencies are counted.
Summary
Most of the world drives on the right, but approximately 75 jurisdictions drive on the left, representing about a third of the global population. The exact count depends on whether territories are included, and the pattern largely mirrors historical and regional ties. Changes to driving side are rare, with only a handful of well-documented switches in the past half‑century.
What country switched from left to right driving?
Sweden
‘the right-hand traffic reorganisation’), was on 3 September 1967, the day on which Sweden switched from driving on the left-hand side of the road to the right. The “H” stands for “Högertrafik”, the Swedish word for right-hand traffic. It was by far the largest logistical event in Sweden’s history.
Do any US territories drive on the left?
Other countries in the Americas
In the West Indies, colonies and territories drive on the same side as their parent countries, except for the United States Virgin Islands.
Which country drives on the opposite side?
But some countries do the opposite, driving on the “wrong” side of the road. If you’ve ever been to the UK, Australia, Japan, or India (or watched TV shows and movies set in these countries), you’ve seen people driving on the left side. And it’s not just a handful of countries that drive on the left…
Is America the only country with left-hand drive?
Around 64 countries drive on the left-hand side of the road while the rest of the world drives on the right. In Europe, very few countries drive on the left like we do. These are The Channel Islands, Cyprus, Ireland, the Isle of Man and Malta.
