Countries That Drive on the Left: All 54, by Region

Fifty-four of the 195 countries recognized by the United Nations drive on the left. So do 20 territories, from Hong Kong to the US Virgin Islands. Every other country and territory drives on the right, apart from four remote territories we couldn't confirm (more on those below).

If you learned to drive on the right, here's the list. Find your trip. If it's one of the seven countries we've written a guide for, the guide is linked beside it.

Every place below appears on two independent lists, and for those seven countries we also read the country's own government page. How we checked is near the end.

Europe: the UK, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus

Only four countries in Europe drive on the left, and all four are islands.

• United Kingdom, including England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Our guides: Driving in the UK as an American and Driving in Scotland.
• Ireland. Our guide: Driving in Ireland as an American.
• Malta
• Cyprus, the whole island, including the north. Our guide: Driving in Cyprus.

Also keeping left: Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey.

Africa: South Africa, Kenya and 12 more

• Botswana
• Eswatini
• Kenya
• Lesotho
• Malawi
• Mauritius
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• Seychelles
• South Africa
• Tanzania
• Uganda
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

Also keeping left: Saint Helena.

Asia: from India and Pakistan to Japan

• Bangladesh
• Bhutan
• Brunei
• East Timor
• India
• Indonesia
• Japan. Our guide: Driving in Japan as an American.
• Malaysia
• Maldives
• Nepal
• Pakistan
• Singapore
• Sri Lanka
• Thailand. Our guide: Driving in Thailand as an American.

Also keeping left: Hong Kong and Macau.

Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific

• Australia
• Fiji
• Kiribati
• Nauru
• New Zealand. Our guide: Driving in New Zealand as an American.
• Papua New Guinea
• Samoa
• Solomon Islands
• Tonga
• Tuvalu

Also keeping left: the Cook Islands, Niue, Norfolk Island, the Pitcairn Islands, Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

The Americas: mostly the Caribbean, plus Guyana and Suriname

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Guyana
• Jamaica
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Suriname
• Trinidad and Tobago

Also keeping left: Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands, Montserrat, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the US Virgin Islands.

The one part of the US that drives on the left

The US Virgin Islands are the only part of the United States that keeps left. The islands already drove on the left when the US bought them from Denmark in 1917, and they still do.

Most cars there have the steering wheel on the left, because they come from the mainland. So you sit where you sit at home, and you keep left.

Everywhere else drives on the right

Every country and territory not listed here drives on the right. The four exceptions are remote territories that appear on only one of our two lists: Ascension Island, Tristan da Cunha, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Tokelau. We couldn't confirm them, so they aren't on either side here.

Why some countries drive on the left

Many of these countries were once part of the British Empire. Not all of them: Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal and Mozambique never were. Sides do still change, though rarely. Sweden switched to the right in 1967. Samoa switched to the left in 2009, the first place to change sides in almost 30 years.

Which side the steering wheel is on

In left-driving countries, cars are usually right-hand drive, with the steering wheel on the right. Japan's national tourism organization says so for Japan: "the driver's seat is on the right side of the car."

A few islands near the US are different. In the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands and both Virgin Islands, most cars have the steering wheel on the left. They're imported from the United States. You keep left from a seat that feels like home.

How we checked this list

Every place on this page is on two independent lists of where people drive on the left. One is Wikipedia's table of left- and right-hand traffic by country. The other is WorldStandards' list of left- and right-driving countries. Wikipedia's table also counts 54 countries.

For the seven countries we've written guides for, we also read the country's own government page:

• United Kingdom: the Highway Code on GOV.UK, rule 160: "keep to the left, unless road signs or markings indicate otherwise." Northern Ireland's Highway Code says the same.
• Scotland: Road Safety Scotland, part of the Scottish Government's transport agency: "Like the rest of the UK, we drive on the left in Scotland."
• Ireland: Ireland's Department of Transport: "Traffic in Ireland drives on the left."
• Japan: the Japan National Tourism Organization: "In Japan, vehicles drive on the left side of the road, and the driver's seat is on the right side of the car."
• New Zealand: New Zealand Police: "In New Zealand people drive on the left-hand side of the road."
• Cyprus: Cyprus's Deputy Ministry of Tourism: "Traffic moves on the LEFT hand-side of the road, NOT on the right."
• Thailand: the Tourism Authority of Thailand: "Drive on the left side of the road."

We read every source on October 14, 2026.

The part a list won't fix

The first time I drove on the left, I had an accident while taking a right turn. I looked the wrong way for oncoming traffic.

I knew the rule. The problem was habit.

Knowing which side a country drives on is the easy part. The hard part is that your brain still behaves as if you're at home. That shows up in a few predictable moments:

• Right turns. On the left, a right turn crosses oncoming traffic. That's the turn I got wrong.
• After the turn. Your instinct pulls you toward the right side of the new road. You keep left.
• Pulling out. Leaving a rental lot or a gas station, there's no traffic to copy, so you choose the left side yourself.

Practice before you go

LeftLane puts you in a right-hand-drive car in your browser and rehearses those moments. It isn't a course for any one country. It rehearses the habits that come back on any road that keeps left.

Start with First Drive, then T-Junction Right Turn, Main Road to Side Road Right Turn and Parking-Lot Exit. All four are free. The Empty Car Park is a free warm-up with no traffic and no score, where you just sit on the right and move the car.

Ten scenarios are free forever, no signup and no card. Twenty more come with a one-time pass. It runs in your browser on a computer, tablet, or phone held sideways.

Quick answers about countries that drive on the left

Where these facts come from

• "Left- and right-hand traffic", Wikipedia, the table "Worldwide distribution by country", on every place listed, the count of 54 countries, the history and the steering wheel.
• WorldStandards, "List of left- & right-driving countries", on every place listed.
• GOV.UK, The Highway Code, "Using the road (159 to 203)", rule 160, for Great Britain.
• nidirect, Northern Ireland's Highway Code, rules 159 to 203, for Northern Ireland.
• Road Safety Scotland, "Visiting and driving in Scotland", for Scotland.
• Government of Ireland, Department of Transport, "Driving in Ireland", for Ireland.
• Japan National Tourism Organization, frequently asked questions, for Japan.
• New Zealand Police, "Driving in New Zealand", for New Zealand.
• Visit Cyprus, Deputy Ministry of Tourism, "Transportation", for Cyprus.
• Tourism Authority of Thailand newsroom, "Driving in Thailand: Essential Guidelines for Tourists and Foreigners", for Thailand.