10 cities with the most traffic congestion in the world

1. Mexico City, Bengaluru, and Dublin top the 2025 global congestion rankings.

2. Global traffic hit a record high — only 34 of 500 cities improved.

3. Lima commuters lose 195 hours a year stuck in traffic.

Traffic congestion is one of the biggest challenges facing urban populations worldwide. In 2025, global congestion levels hit a record high, rising 5 percentage points to reach 25% on average, according to TomTom's 15th annual Traffic Index, which analysed data from nearly 500 cities across more than 3.6 trillion kilometres driven.

From South America to South Asia, the cities on this list push commuters to their limits every single day.

Here are the 10 most traffic-congested cities in the world, ranked by congestion level and travel time data.

Mexico City sits at the very top of the 2025 TomTom Traffic Index as the world's most congested city. With a congestion level of 75.9%, drivers in the Mexican capital endure an average travel time of 3 minutes 27 seconds per kilometre — compared to just 1 minute 57 seconds under free-flow conditions. A typical 10 km journey takes around 35 minutes during peak hours, with the worst bottlenecks occurring at 8 AM and 6 PM.

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The city's combination of massive population density (over 21 million in the metro area), inadequate road infrastructure for vehicle volumes, and limited public transport alternatives creates a near-permanent gridlock. Despite ongoing investment in metro expansion and bus rapid transit, the city has not been able to keep pace with the relentless growth in car ownership.

India's tech capital ranks second globally with a congestion level of 74.4%. Bengaluru's rush hour effectively runs from 9 AM all the way through to 7 PM — a 10-hour window of near-continuous gridlock that reflects a city whose roads were never designed to handle 13+ million residents and one of the fastest-growing vehicle fleets in Asia.

The average 10 km trip takes 34 minutes and 10 seconds, and commuters lose an estimated 117–168 hours per year to traffic delays. IT corridor roads, such as Outer Ring Road and Hosur Road, are among the most congested stretches in India.

Ireland's capital may surprise many at number three, but Dublin has consistently ranked among the worst cities globally for congestion. With a congestion level of 72.9%, a morning rush-hour journey of 10 km takes nearly 44 minutes, while evening peak times stretch that to over 45 minutes.

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Dublin loses approximately 155 hours per commuter per year to congestion — one of the highest annual burdens in the world. The city's narrow mediaeval street network was simply not built for the volume of vehicles generated by rapid economic growth and a tech sector that has drawn tens of thousands of workers into the city.

While Kolkata's percentage-based congestion level sits lower than the top three, by raw travel time it ranks second in the world – with a 10 km average trip time of 34 minutes 33 seconds. The city's density, narrow lanes, ageing infrastructure, and high use of non-motorised transport create extreme stop-start conditions across its road network.

Commuters in Kolkata lose around 110 hours per year to rush-hour traffic. The city's bridges and arterial routes are notorious bottlenecks, with demand for space far exceeding supply.

Barranquilla holds a unique and unwanted distinction: it is the slowest city on earth by travel time per kilometre. Drivers here spend an average of 3 minutes and 40 seconds to travel just one kilometre – two seconds worse than in 2024. Under free-flow conditions, that same kilometre would take 2 minutes 15 seconds, giving Barranquilla a congestion level of 62.2%.

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The Colombian port city's road network struggles under a combination of rapid urban growth, insufficient investment in infrastructure, and high car dependency. During peak congestion periods, levels have reportedly exceeded 120%, making even short journeys painfully slow.

Pune, India's eighth-largest city, has seen congestion rise by nearly 4 percentage points in 2025 alone — one of the steepest single-year increases globally. With 7.2 million residents and a booming automotive and IT industry driving car ownership, the city loses around 6 days and 8 hours per commuter per year to traffic delays.

The average 10 km trip in Pune takes 33 minutes and 22 seconds. Despite significant investment in traffic management systems, vehicle numbers continue to outpace infrastructure capacity.

Colombia's capital ranks as the seventh slowest city in the world, with an average travelling speed of just 18.9 km/h and annual time lost of 153 hours per commuter. To address this, Bogotá has implemented a congestion pricing hybrid model — combining licence plate-based driving restrictions with a "buy-out" option allowing drivers to pay to exempt themselves from restrictions.

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Despite these innovations, Bogotá's road network remains severely overwhelmed, particularly along the city's north-south corridors and around TransMilenio bus rapid transit hubs, where private vehicles and public transport compete for space.

Lima inflicts the largest annual time burden of any city in the TomTom top 10. Drivers in Peru's capital lose an average of 188–195 hours per year — nearly five full working weeks — to traffic congestion. The 10 km average travel time sits at 33 minutes and 12 seconds, and the city's congestion level is approximately 69.3–69.5%.

Lima's geography (squeezed between the Pacific Ocean, the Andes foothills, and the desert) creates natural bottlenecks that compound the effects of rapid population growth and a vehicle fleet that has outstripped road expansion. The city frequently appears in multiple global rankings simultaneously — both by raw travel time and annual hours lost.

London is the slowest city in Europe by travel time and has ranked in the TomTom global top 10 for several consecutive years. In 2025, its congestion level rose from 50.6% to 51.6%, with an average travel time of 3 minutes 38 seconds per kilometre — up four seconds from 2024.

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Despite the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), Congestion Charge, and one of the world's most extensive public transport networks, demand for road space in central London continues to grow. The 10 km trip time averages 33 minutes 17 seconds, and the city ranks among the top five globally for both raw travel time and annual congestion burden.

Bangkok closes out the top 10 with a congestion level of 67.9%, earning it a long-standing reputation as one of Asia's most gridlocked capitals. The Thai capital's peak-hour traffic is among the most severe in Southeast Asia, with a traffic congestion index maximum that regularly exceeds 125 in real-time monitoring.

Bangkok's challenges stem from decades of car-centric urban planning, a sprawling, low-density layout that makes walking and cycling impractical, and public transport infrastructure that is only now beginning to match demand. The BTS Skytrain and MRT systems have helped, but the majority of the city's workforce still relies on private vehicles or motorcycles.