Sri Lanka has been ranked the third most traffic-congested country in the world in Numbeo’s Traffic Index by Country 2026 Mid-Year, underscoring the island’s persistent struggle with worsening road gridlock.
The country recorded a traffic index score of 254.5, placing it behind only Nigeria and Costa Rica. Nigeria topped the list with the world’s highest traffic index of 320.3. Bangladesh, Kenya, Egypt, Peru, Iran, India and Colombia rounded out the ten most congested countries.
Numbeo, a crowd-sourced global database, compiles its Traffic Index from data submitted by users to compare congestion across countries and cities. The index gauges the overall level of congestion experienced by commuters by weighing average travel time, traffic inefficiencies, estimated fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, with higher scores signalling more severe congestion.
The overall figure is built from several sub-indices. The Time Index reflects the average one-way daily commute in minutes. The Time Expenditure Index estimates commuter dissatisfaction, on the assumption that frustration rises sharply once a one-way trip exceeds 25 minutes. The Inefficiency Index measures how well a transport system functions, with higher scores pointing to heavy reliance on private vehicles, limited use of public transport, or excessively long commutes. The CO2 Emission Index estimates the carbon dioxide produced by a commuter’s daily round trip, measured in grams.
As a user-contributed index rather than an official statistical measure, Numbeo’s ranking reflects the aggregated perceptions and travel experiences of respondents. Even so, the placement adds to long-running concerns over congestion in and around Colombo, where dependence on private vehicles and constrained public transport options continue to lengthen daily commutes.
