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Canada Has 6th Highest Number of Vehicles per Capita

by Guillaume Rivard
Photo: JOEL LEMAY/AGENCE QMI

Canadians love their cars and trucks a lot more than public transit or alternative mobility solutions like walking or riding a bicycle. With such a vast territory, it makes sense, right?

If you’ve ever wondered where Canada ranks among other countries, Visual Capitalist has compiled data from the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA) and come up with a detailed chart.

Believe it or not, there are currently 707 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants in Canada, good for sixth place in the global ranking. The annual growth rate from 2015-2020 is 3 percent. Now, if you think the U.S. is worse, you’re right, but it’s not the No.1 country.

Photo: Toronto.com

Check out the top 10 below:

  1. New Zealand – 869 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants
  2. United States – 860 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants
  3. Poland – 761 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants
  4. Italy – 756 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants
  5. Australia – 737 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants
  6. Canada – 707 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants
  7. France – 704 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants
  8. Czechia – 658 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants
  9. Portugal – 640 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants
  10. Norway – 635 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants

That’s right: the Kiwis are the most addicted to cars. With nearly nine vehicles on the road for every 10 people, this figure is notably high considering that children make up about 20 percent of the population down there. Most are imported second hand from Japan thanks to a wave of deregulation in the 1980s along with the country being a major producer of right-hand-drive cars, Visual Capitalist notes.

China is far behind with 223 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants, despite a 14 percent annual growth rate from 2015-2020. What’s more, EVs made up 31 percent of all car sales in China last year—nearly triple the Canadian proportion.

The OICA data also shows that Vietnam has seen the fastest growth in ownership between 2015-2020, at 17 percent annually. Keep in mind that we’re talking about just 50 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants.

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