In thirty years, the highway density of the countries of the BB axis increased almost fourfold, but the development was by no means uniform. Hungary produced one of the biggest catch-ups: it moved up from sixth place to third. The highway map of the region does not tell of past legacies, but of very recent economic policy decisions.
The density of the highway network is one of those indicators that do not reflect centuries-old legacies, but relatively recent construction decisions. In the countries of the BB axis – in contrast to the railway network, which its foundations were laid more than a hundred years ago – the majority of highways were built in the last three decades.
Accordingly, the picture is much more dynamic: the average highway density in the region has almost quadrupled in three decades, and the ranking has been significantly rearranged.
The indicator used here – motorway kilometers per ten thousand square kilometers – indicates how densely the expressway system weaves through the territory of a country. The higher the value, the more connected the cities, industrial centers and logistics hubs carrying the blood circulation of the economy are.
In 1995, the average highway density of the BB axis was only 36.6 km/10,000 km². During this period, several countries – especially Romania and Poland – barely had any motorways. Slovenia was in first place with 102 km/10,000 km², which was one and a half times more than the second place. The construction wave that lasted for two decades, which gained real momentum in the 2000s with the accession to the European Union and the arrival of cohesion funds, fundamentally reshaped the image of the region.
Slovenia is still at the top of the current ranking, with a value of nearly 306 km/10,000 km² – the position remained unchanged throughout the entire period under review. It is followed by Croatia with 242.6, then Hungary with 207.9, the Czech Republic with 192.5 and Slovakia with 177.8. These five countries make up the field with higher highway density, well above the BB axis average of 131. They are followed by Bulgaria, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia and Romania with values between 49 and 77 – significantly below the top team in the region.
There is a lot of development in Hungary
The most spectacular catch-up was produced by Hungary. It increased its highway density from 36.7 thirty years ago to 208, a more than five-fold increase. In the ranking, this meant an improvement of three places, we advanced from sixth to third place. Croatia ran a similarly worthy course: the value raised from 54 to 242.6 represents a 4.5-fold increase, while moving from third to second place. Poland, although starting from a low starting point of only 8 km/10,000 km², has now advanced to 61.5, the second largest percentage expansion of the entire field.
The case of Romania also deserves special attention: the indicator increased from 4.8 km/10,000 km² in 1995 to 48.5 – this is a tenfold increase, the largest percentage expansion in the region. In recent years, a particularly noticeable acceleration has taken place: by 2024, nearly 1,140 kilometers of highways were available in the country, compared to 113 kilometers in 1995. Despite everything, Romania occupies the tenth place in the ranking in absolute terms, which stems from its huge territorial size: the 1,140-kilometer highway network built there is relatively scattered in a country of 234,000 square kilometers.
The last place in the ranking – and this was the case for the entire three decades examined – is occupied by Latvia with a value of zero. This is not to say that the country does not have multi-lane roads in good condition; however, according to Eurostat’s methodology, only those with physically separated travel directions, multi-level interchanges and controlled ramps are considered “motorways”. The Latvian highway network does not meet these criteria, as it typically contains level crossings and direct connections. There are also historical reasons for this situation: no highways were built in Latvia during the Soviet era, and after gaining independence, the region’s transport development resources were primarily directed to the modernization of the existing road network, not to the construction of new, highway-quality roads. The traffic of the relatively small country has not yet justified the construction of an extensive highway network.
In the case of Lithuania, we see an even more complex picture: the country’s highway density rose from 62.9 to 73.8 in thirty years, which is the smallest percentage expansion of the entire field. The Lithuanian network practically collapsed in 2006 during a regrouping, and only began to expand again at the end of the 2010s. Estonia also belongs to the lower half of the region, although the value of the indicator increased from 15 to 54 in thirty years.
The most important lesson of the thirty-year data series is that the countries of the BB axis went through a significant phase of highway construction – the average density of the region quadrupled in three decades. In the meantime, some elements of the ranking remained stable: Slovenia is always in first place, Latvia always in last place. However, the midfield has been significantly reorganized, primarily thanks to the improvement of Hungary, Croatia and Poland.
The expansion of infrastructure in the region as a whole not only serves to speed up transportation, but also contributes to the strengthening of economic integration and the role of logistics – and according to the data of recent years, several countries plan to keep up this construction momentum.
THE BB Axis performance of the Baltic and Balkan countries puts it together in a decades-long perspective.
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