The UK is one of the cheapest countries in Europe to become a driver. That’s the conclusion of Confused.com’s latest research of prices across the continent.

Combine this with one of the best road safety records in the world, it paints a positive picture of our industry.

The work evaluates the minimum costs required for obtaining a driving licence (category B) in each EU country. This includes mandatory licence and test fees set by the national regulatory authorities. The average price of a one hour driving lesson was calculated in each country, and then placed against their national average wage.

With the DVSA recommending approximately 45 lessons of professional driving lessons, this has been set as the benchmark.

Passing the test

The UK spends 6.98% of their average annual income learning to drive

  • Learning to drive in the UK costs €1,577.95 in total, including the costs of lessons, tests and provisional and full licence costs.
  • UK Drivers pay nearly €500 less than France to become a driver
  • com car insurance expert Alex Kindred offers tips to pass your driving test for the first time.

The research reveals how much of the average annual salary in each country is spent on a driver obtaining their driving licence in EU countries and the UK. This includes calculating the average cost of lessons, tests, and provisional and licence costs for each country.

European comparison

#  Country Total cost of obtaining driving licence* % of income taken
learning to drive
1 Malta €910.00 5.40%
2 Poland €525.45 6.38%
3 Portugal €765.00 6.90%
4 United Kingdom €1,577.95 6.98%
5 Luxembourg €2,985.00 7.69%
6 Norway €3,230.41 7.83%
7 Slovenia €1,191.00 7.86%
8 Ireland €2,285.23 8.12%
9 Germany €2,169.92 8.14%
10 Spain €1,361.25 8.57%
11 Netherlands €2,128.50 8.64%
12 France €1,935.00 8.82%
13 Denmark €2,902.68 9.46%
14 Austria €2,700.00 10.10%
15 Italy €1,800.00 10.11%
16 Switzerland €4,579.63 10.37%
17 Belgium €2,829.00 10.99%
18 Finland €3,317.00 13.03%
19 Sweden €3,506.07 13.75%

 

Value for money

The United Kingdom comes in at fourth place, where it costs residents 6.98% of their average annual salary to secure their driving licence. Surprisingly, when analysing how much this cost in terms of money, the UK comes as the 6th cheapest.

British learners pay €1,437.19 (£1,254), on average, to become a driver. French motorists pay almost 20% (18%) more than the UK to learn to drive. This neighbouring country pays £357 more, although they have a similar average annual income (1.4% difference) to the UK.

Malta is the cheapest country in Europe to become a driver. The total cost of securing a driving licence in Malta is €910, including the fees for lessons, tests and issuing a licence. This equates to only 5.40% of the average annual salary in the country. This is just over half of what residents in the neighbouring country, Italy pay for their licence (€1,800).

Polish drivers pay the lowest amount to learn how to drive – at €525.45 on average. This equates to 6.38% of the average annual income in the country, making it  the second cheapest in terms of percentage of salary paid.

In third place, drivers in Portugal spend 6.90% of their income to obtain a licence. When analysing only the monetary value of securing a driving licence, the Portuguese pay €765, on average, to become a driver. This is the second cheapest price among the countries analysed.

Flamboyant Italy

Italy comes in 15th place, with drivers spending 10.11% of their income on securing their driving licences.

Italian drivers looking to secure their licence can expect to pay €1,800 for their licence, on average. This is the equivalent to 10.11% of their average annual income. According to the figures, this is just 0.01 percentage points more than Austrians, who spend 10.10% of their annual salary when learning to become a driver.

 

You can read this report and more at: www.confused.com/car-insurance