Countries that drive on the left
Most of them are former parts of the British Empire, but not all. Here are the exceptions, the countries that switched, and why a third of the world keeps left.
54 countriesAs of September 2026Short notes, not sourcedSuggest a correction
Most of the world keeps to the right, but a long list of countries keeps to the left. Between them they hold about a third of the world’s people, mostly thanks to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Japan.
Nearly every left-driving country is a former British colony, or a neighbour of one that kept the rule so traffic could cross the border smoothly. The ones that don’t fit that pattern are the interesting ones: Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Suriname, Mozambique and Timor-Leste.
Europe4
Britain, and the three other countries it ruled or partly ruled.
United KingdomPeople kept to the left on British roads long before cars, and the habit spread across the Empire.
CyprusThe whole island keeps left, including the north.
South Asia7
East and Southeast Asia7
JapanNever part of the British Empire. Okinawa drove on the right under American rule, and switched back to the left in 1978.
ThailandNever colonised, but keeps left all the same.
IndonesiaKeeps left, unlike the Netherlands, which ruled it for centuries.
Timor-LesteA former Portuguese colony that keeps left like Indonesia, its only neighbour.
Oceania10
Australia, New Zealand and most of the Pacific islands. Vanuatu, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau keep right.
SamoaDrove on the right until 7 September 2009, when it switched so that cheap right-hand-drive cars from Australia, New Zealand and Japan would suit its roads.
Africa14
Mostly the east and south of the continent, from Kenya down to the Cape, plus two island states in the Indian Ocean.
MozambiqueA former Portuguese colony, but surrounded by left-driving neighbours.
The Americas12
Two countries on the mainland of South America, and the former British islands of the Caribbean.
Close calls
Countries that switched to the right
Sweden moved from left to right overnight on 3 September 1967, the day known as Dagen H. Iceland followed in 1968. Myanmar switched in 1970, although many of its cars are still right-hand drive. Nigeria switched in 1972 and Ghana in 1974, which put them in line with their French-speaking neighbours. Several Canadian provinces changed in the 1920s. The last was Newfoundland, in 1947, before it joined Canada.
Territories that keep left
Hong Kong and Macau keep left even though mainland China drives on the right, so cars crossing the border have to switch sides. The US Virgin Islands keep left too, as do the Falkland Islands, Bermuda, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. They're not on this list only because it's a list of countries.