A SENSE OF TRANSPORT WELLBEING

Finland leads Europe in transport system performance, while major economies are lagging behind, according to the 2026 STA Transport Sector Health Index.

The Smart Transportation Alliance (STA) has launched a new benchmark based on 16 indicators to assess the performance of national transport systems across Europe.

Transport systems are a key driver of economic growth, social inclusion and environmental sustainability, playing a central role in achieving Europe's vision of a safe, efficient and sustainable transport system. Despite their importance, no single, standardised benchmark has so far enabled consistent cross-country comparison across all key dimensions of transport performance.
 

Together, these dimensions provide a comprehensive assessment of national transport system performance and enable meaningful comparisons between countries. In total, 32 European countries were assessed (EU + European Economic Area + Switzerland + UK), with 24 countries meeting the minimum data coverage requirements for being included in the ranking, a minimum of three indicators available per dimension.

KEY FINDINGS

Finland has the healthiest transport system in Europe

Finland ranks first, with an overall TSHI score of 74.9, followed by Denmark (72.9) and Austria (69.2), reflecting consistently strong performance across all four dimensions. At the lower end of the ranking are Croatia (39.3), Greece (40.6) and Malta (40.7), indicating significant room for improvement.

“Despite their economic strength and extensive transport networks, Europe’s largest economies do not lead the index”

Europe’s largest economies do not top the ranking

Despite their economic strength and extensive transport networks, Europe’s largest economies do not lead the index. France (62.9) ranks seventh and Germany ninth (62.1), suggesting that scale alone does not guarantee high-performing transport systems.
 

Data gaps still remain a key challenge

Eight countries could not be ranked (Belgium, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Slovakia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom) due to insufficient data. This highlights the need to improve the availability and consistency of publicly available transport data to support evidence-based policymaking.

CONCLUSION AND STA RECOMMENDATIONS

Beyond the rankings, the TSHI shows that high-performing transport systems are those that achieve balanced outcomes: accessible services, safe and reliable mobility, reduced environmental impact, and efficient, well-integrated networks. The findings also underline that effective benchmarking depends not only on system performance but also on robust, comparable data.

The Smart Transportation Alliance intends for the TSHI to become an annual benchmark for assessing transport sector performance across Europe, enabling countries to track progress over time, share best practices, and support the development of more accessible, safer, more efficient and more sustainable transport systems.

For the full methodology, detailed rankings and the interactive dashboard, please visit the STA website.