Hampshire has been ranked as the county with the highest levels of traffic congestion in the UK.

Research from Claims.co.uk analysed the latest public data relating to traffic congestion within local authorities throughout 2022.

This included looking at the total number of miles that all vehicles have travelled through the area, the number of licensed vehicles, and the average number of vehicles that travel through on an average day of the year.

This data was then combined to create a total ‘congestion score’ out of 100 for each local authority. 

Daily Echo: highest number of licensed vehicles at the end of 2022 of any local authorityhighest number of licensed vehicles at the end of 2022 of any local authority (Image: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire)

Top 10 UK counties with the highest levels of traffic congestion

According to the research from Claims.co.uk the top 10 UK counties with the highest levels of traffic congestion are:

  1. Hampshire - 83.01
  2. Essex - 81.50
  3. Surrey - 78.22
  4. Kent - 78.17
  5. Lancashire - 63.63 
  6. Warwickshire - 55.65
  7. Staffordshire - 53.95
  8. Leeds - 52.59
  9. Derbyshire - 52.49
  10. Leicestershire - 50.75

Hampshire ranked as the most congested area with a ‘congestion score’ of 83.01 out of 100. 

It had the highest number of licensed vehicles at the end of 2022 of any local authority, at approximately 1.13 million, and had the second highest number of total traffic miles from all vehicles, at 9.23 billion miles.

Hampshire also had an average daily flow count of 4,499 vehicles, when compared with other local authorities. 

A spokesman for Claims.co.uk commented: “The amount of traffic congestion in a given area can differ drastically depending on factors such as how many vehicles are registered there or how many miles are travelled each day.  

“Hampshire is known for its large amount of tourism due to picturesque locations such as the New Forest, though it is still surprising to see the area receive such a high final score. 

“Considering how varied the results are for congestion level factors in 2022, it will be interesting to see how these rankings might change next year and whether any of these local authorities maintain similar scores in the list.”