Roads to Resilience: The Hardest and Easiest Countries to Learn to Drive

A Global Snapshot of Driving Stress: Learning to drive is a universal rite of passage — one that blends anticipation with anxiety. But depending on where you live, that first time behind the wheel can feel like empowerment… or pure stress.

CEOWORLD Magazine’s 2025 Global Learner Driver Stress Index analyzed conditions in countries around the world, measuring how infrastructure, safety, and congestion influence the experience of new drivers. The results reveal a world divided by asphalt: nations where learning to drive is seamless and supported, and others where it’s fraught with danger, cost, and uncertainty.

Where It’s Toughest: The World’s Most Stressful Countries for Learner Drivers

Topping the 2025 list is South Sudan, with a composite stress score of 45.27 out of 100 — the lowest globally. The country faces extreme challenges across all four metrics, from poor infrastructure to a high rate of road fatalities.

“Driving is more than a skill — it’s an indicator of mobility equity and national progress,” notes Prof. Dr. Amarendra Bhushan Dhiraj, CEO and Editorial Director of CEOWORLD Magazine. “When roads fail, economies stall. Learning to drive becomes not just stressful — it becomes symbolic of systemic fragility.”

Following South Sudan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Burundi, and the Central African Republic round out the top five most stressful environments for learner drivers.

These nations share common stressors: deteriorating infrastructure, weak regulatory frameworks, and heightened safety risks. In such conditions, even the act of learning to operate a vehicle can become perilous.

Where It’s Easiest: The Best Countries for Learner Drivers

At the other end of the spectrum, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Ireland, and Switzerland emerge as the world’s least stressful nations for learning to drive.

These countries benefit from world-class road infrastructure, low accident rates, and meticulously enforced driving regulations. Compact geographies and high vehicle standards further reduce risk. “Monaco and Liechtenstein represent the gold standard — safe, efficient, and digitally advanced driving ecosystems,” adds Dhiraj. “They prove that the quality of infrastructure directly correlates with the ease of learning.”

Most Stressful Countries to Learn Driving

Methodology: Quantifying Driving Stress

To evaluate the global learner driving experience, CEOWORLD assessed four key indicators across multiple nations:

• Congestion – Overcrowded roads and long commute times hinder smooth learning experiences.
• Road Traffic Deaths – A critical safety metric reflecting the real dangers of road conditions.
• Registered Vehicles – A proxy for road usage intensity and exposure risk.
• Road Quality Score – The infrastructure backbone determining driver comfort and confidence.

Each country was given a normalized score out of 100, and the averages across these four categories determined its final ranking.

The data offers a sobering look at the intersection of infrastructure investment, public safety, and economic development.

Understanding the Core Stress Factor: Congestion

Among the biggest drivers of stress is congestion — the relentless traffic gridlock that defines many major urban centers. Congestion refers to the overcrowding of vehicles on the road, leading to slower speeds, increased queuing, and longer commute times. For learner drivers, constant braking and clutch control in heavy traffic intensify cognitive load, increase fuel costs, and reduce confidence.

From Lagos to Kabul, the combination of poor traffic management and rising vehicle density creates conditions where new drivers face both frustration and hazard.

The Policy Perspective: Driving as an Economic Signal

Behind the wheel lies a deeper story — one about governance, investment, and economic inequality.

Countries with poor infrastructure and high accident rates are often those with weaker institutional capacity and underfunded transport sectors. These same factors ripple across business ecosystems: logistics costs soar, insurance premiums rise, and workforce mobility stagnates.

Conversely, countries ranking as least stressful — particularly Monaco, Switzerland, and Ireland — are models of human-centered infrastructure investment. Their roads reflect both fiscal discipline and policy foresight.

“Ease of mobility is a leading indicator of a nation’s competitiveness,” says Dhiraj. “Where it’s easy to learn to drive, it’s usually easy to do business.”

For CEOs and Investors: The Mobility-Readiness Matrix

For global executives, the findings transcend personal convenience — they illuminate where infrastructure resilience and public trust align with sustainable investment climates.

• Emerging markets like South Sudan and Burundi face compounding stress from weak roads and safety gaps — indicators of broader systemic risk.
• Developed microstates like Monaco and Luxembourg demonstrate how micro-scale planning and smart investment yield macro-level benefits.
• Transitional economies (such as Ireland) show that reforms in transport infrastructure directly enhance national competitiveness.

Mobility, in essence, mirrors market health: nations that make driving safe and accessible tend to be those where commerce flows freely.

Driving Forward: A Global Call to Action

As the world urbanizes, the need for equitable, safe, and sustainable driving environments becomes an economic and moral imperative. For governments and policymakers, CEOWORLD’s findings offer a strategic lens: improving road conditions and safety protocols isn’t just about convenience — it’s about unlocking human potential.

For businesses, this data highlights where logistics and human capital face the greatest friction — a crucial insight for global expansion strategies.

And for the average learner, these rankings are a reminder that the right infrastructure can turn a nerve-wracking experience into a journey of empowerment.

“Driving is freedom,” concludes Dhiraj. “But in much of the world, it’s also fear. The countries that bridge that gap — that make mobility equitable — will lead the next century of progress.”

Beyond the Wheel: The CEOWORLD 2025 ranking underscores a simple truth — roads reflect more than asphalt and paint. They reveal how societies value safety, equality, and the future.

From South Sudan’s challenges to Monaco’s mastery, the global driving stress index is both a diagnostic and a call to action: mobility is modern prosperity.

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