New research found Greece to be the second European country where the most car thefts occur, with 228 vehicles per 100,000 people being stolen on a yearly basis. To provide car-owners with valuable insights, the experts at Zego LTD analysed years worth of car theft data to reveal the European countries with the highest car theft rate.
Europe’s top 10 countries with the most car thefts
| Rank | Country | Population | Average Car Thefts Per Day* | Average Yearly Car Thefts Per 100,000 People** |
| 1 | France | 66,548,500 | 451 | 248 |
| 2 | Greece | 10,047,800 | 63 | 228 |
| 3 | Italy | 59,342,900 | 369 | 227 |
| 4 | Sweden | 10,607,000 | 60 | 206 |
| 5 | Luxembourg | 673,036 | 3 | 162 |
| 6 | Netherlands | 18,228,700 | 78 | 156 |
| 7 | Belgium | 11,738,800 | 37 | 116 |
| 8 | Switzerland | 8,921,980 | 26 | 108 |
| 9 | Finland | 5,617,310 | 17 | 108 |
| 10 | Portugal | 10,425,300 | 26 | 93 |
The European country that topped the list is France, with an average of 248 yearly car thefts per 100,000 people. Average daily car thefts in the country amounted to a whopping 451 – the highest number out of all countries analysed. This means that every hour 19 vehicles in France are being stolen.
Coming in second is Greece, with an average of 228 yearly car thefts per 100,000 people. The coastal European country sees 63 car thefts on average every day. Therefore, car theft occurs roughly every three hours around the country.
Following very closely behind, with an average of 227 yearly car thefts per 100,000 people, in third place is Italy. On a daily basis, 369 car thefts on average occur in the country – the second highest number out of all countries examined, right after France. An average of 15 vehicles are being stolen per hour there, which is the second highest number, coming after France once more.
Sweden ranks fourth, with an average of 206 yearly car thefts per 100,000 people. The Nordic country averages 60 car thefts per day. Sweden’s hourly car theft rate stands at two, which is the second lowest amount out of all countries in the study.
And rounding off the top five, with an average of 162 yearly car thefts per 100,000 people, is Luxembourg. With an average of three car thefts per day, Luxembourg ranks among the countries with the third-lowest daily car theft rate. In terms of the number of cars being stolen throughout the country on an hourly basis, that number is zero.
