In England, the percentage of adults under 30 years of age in England who held a full car driving license within the last decade has fluctuated considerably. In this age group, the percentage of those holding a full car driving license generally decreased between 2009 and 2022: with one percent fewer license holders aged 21 to 29 but six percent more license holders aged 17 to 20. The percentage of driving license holders has been decreasing in the past two years for the age groups of 40 and above.

While the percentage of male driving license holders has always been greater than that of female driving license holders, the gap between the two decreased significantly from 40 percent to nine percent between 1975/76 and 2019. It is also worth noting that the percentage of all adults carrying driving licenses has basically remained stable since 2002, with smaller variations, ranging from 70 to 75 percent.

At 26 percent, not being interested in driving was the main reason given by UK survey respondents for not acquiring a driving license in 2019. An additional 13 percent reported that the costs of learning to drive prevented them from taking lessons. This is down from 15 percent in 2018. As of that same year, roughly 75 percent of adult residents in the country were driving license holders.

In 2019/20, there were about 1.6 million practical driving tests taken in the United Kingdom. Of these less than fifty percent were successful. This was the second year in a row that the number of tests taken had decreased, with the share of passed tests staying relatively constant in respect to overall number. Driving is still an inherent part of life for many people in the UK and still the most common mode of transport.

Gender disparity

Pass rates for practical driving tests were consistently higher for men than women. In 2019/20, 49.6 percent of male participants passed the test, compared with 42.6 percent of female participants. Pass rates declined from 2016/17 onwards after having stayed relatively consistent between 2012/13 and 2016/17.

Share of license holders

Of adults living in England, 75 percent held a driving license. The increase in driver’s has been steady since the beginning of the reporting period in 1975/76, when a little under half of all adults in the country were license holders.