Dublin has been named the third most congested city in the world, with drivers losing the equivalent of almost eight full days stuck in traffic last year, according to new figures from TomTom.
The data shows that motorists in the capital lost an average of 191 hours to rush-hour congestion over the course of the year. Dublin also ranked as the sixth slowest city globally, with drivers taking an average of three minutes and 27 seconds to travel just one kilometre.
Overall congestion levels in Dublin averaged 72.9%, an increase of 1.7 percentage points on 2024. Conditions worsened sharply during peak periods, with congestion reaching 225% on the busiest day of the year.
That day was identified as Thursday, December 11, when traffic levels were at their most severe. At 5pm, drivers were able to travel just 2.4 kilometres in 15 minutes, while the average travel time for a 10km journey rose to 34 minutes and 29 seconds, almost one minute longer than the previous year. Average rush-hour speeds remained extremely low at 13.5km/h, showing little improvement year on year.
Despite slight improvements on motorways, where average speeds increased to 40.6km/h, up 3.2km/h compared with 2024, the overall picture for commuters remains challenging. Drivers covered an average of 4.4km in 15 minutes, down slightly on the previous year, while motorway journeys accounted for just 0.2% of trips, unchanged year on year.
The report also placed Dublin among a group of the world’s most congested cities, alongside Mexico City, Lima and Trujillo in Peru, Davao City in the Philippines and Kyoto in Japan.
While Dublin ranked third globally for congestion, London remains the world’s slowest capital city, according to the same study. Drivers in the UK capital lost an average of 141 hours — or five days and 21 hours — sitting in rush-hour traffic last year. In Central London, journeys of just one kilometre took an average of three minutes and 40 seconds in 2025.
Globally, London was ranked the second slowest city overall, behind Barranquilla in Colombia, and ahead of Bengaluru and Kolkata in India, which placed third and fourth respectively. London also sits among the top 20 cities worldwide for total time lost in traffic.
The findings have renewed calls for action at home, with the Labour Party arguing employees should have a legal right to flexible and remote working to reduce peak-time congestion. The party says fewer commuters travelling at the same time could help ease pressure on Dublin’s overstretched transport network.
