Cycling is a fantastic way to get around and keep fit, whether you’re using a bike for your daily commute, running errands or exploring somewhere new. It’s hugely popular all over Europe, with nearly 1 in 10 people using a bicycle as their main form of transportation.
As the trend for fitness-focussed holidays continues, more and more people are taking trips on their bikes, with over 2.2 billion cycling holidays being booked each year. And regardless of where you’re cycling, you want to feel safe when you’re on two wheels. So, where are the safest places to cycle in Europe?
To find out more, we ranked 31 different countries, judging them against 5 different cycling safety criteria: annual cyclist deaths, air pollution levels, the percentage of total journeys carried out on bicycles (modal share), the amount of cycle routes available and whether or not the country has a National Cycling Strategy in place. We then used this data to give each country a final safety score.
Here’s what we found:
Sweden is the safest country for cycling in Europe
Sweden claims the title of the safest country to cycle in Europe, with a safety score of 59.17. Swedish cyclists have a relatively low number of accidents, with an average of 2.16 annual deaths per million people, and the country has one of the lowest levels of pollution in Europe.
Sweden dropped points for the amount of cycle routes available, with just 6.9km of mapped routes per km2, but gained points for their National Cycling Strategy, which aims to encourage long-term sustainable transport solutions, reducing congestion and environmental impact while also improving public health.
Luxembourg came in second place, with a safety score of 57.4 and the highest amount of available cycling routes of our entire ranking, with a whopping 446.5km of mapped routes per km2 and just 1.13 annual deaths per million people.
Third place went to the Netherlands, which earned a safety score of 57.38. The Netherlands had the highest modal share of all 31 countries, with 27% of all journeys taking place on a bicycle. They don’t have a National Cycling Strategy in place, instead favouring various local and regional schemes throughout the country.
Take Home Message
Whether you’re riding on or off-road, cycling is a fantastic way to keep fit and challenge yourself. And if you’re looking for somewhere new to ride, Europe has plenty of stunning scenery you can explore on two wheels.
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Methodology
We looked at 31 European countries, gathering data across the following criteria: average annual cyclist deaths per million people, air pollution levels, the percentage of total journeys carried out on bicycles (modal share), the amount of mapped cycle routes available and whether or not the country has a National Cycling Strategy in place.
To calculate the amount of cycle routes available, we looked at the total kilometers of mapped ways listed for each country on Bikemap, before dividing this by the total area of that country.
Data sourced included Eurostat, the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Bikemap.
