That’s the finding of the 2013 Annual INRIX Traffic Scorecard from traffic information and driver services provider INRIX, which analysed data from 13 European countries.

The firm found that the congestion landscape generally aligned closely with each country’s economic outlook. Those nations struggling with high unemployment and low or negative growth in 2013 typically recorded lower traffic congestion than in 2012. Spain and Portugal are both examples of this trend: in 2013 Spain’s economy contracted by 1.2% and Portugal experienced record unemployment.

The data shows a marked difference from 2012 where all of the European countries saw decreases in congestion. In 2013, five nations recorded increases in congestion according to the INRIX Index: the UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Italy. The Swiss and British economies both grew by 1.9% in 2013. Although full-year figures have not been released for Ireland and Luxembourg, estimates show that Ireland is expected to grow by 1.3% and Luxembourg by 1.9% in 2013. The general trend is that the countries showing increased congestion have a positive economic outlook, while those economies still struggling are experiencing less congested roads.

Based on the average hours wasted annually across the countries analysed, Europe’s worst countries for traffic congestion in 2013 were: 

The INRIX Traffic Scorecard also found the top 25 most congested cities in Europe and annual average hours wasted in traffic, which are as follows: